


World Calling

by wordxkarma



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: AU, F/M, Kagerou Project AU, SetoMarry, i dont even like setomarry yet here i am, kagepro, mermaid au, writing a setomarry fanfic instead of my otp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-05-03 16:26:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 37,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5298221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordxkarma/pseuds/wordxkarma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seto Kousuke lived a normal life... Until he happened across Marry, a finless mermaid stranded on the beach. With no way for Marry to get back home, Seto and his siblings take her in, and they learn just how hard it is to teach her about the human world.<br/>(Kagerou Project AU-- SetoMarry fan fiction)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It was a beautiful day, and a good one for Seto Kousuke. His sister, Kido, had made a wonderful breakfast, work went great, and now he was strolling along the beach while the sun was setting, the smell of salt water rising into the air.

Oh yes, it was wonderful.

"I wish everyday was like this," he said out loud, walking on the wet sand. It was times like this- when the sky was painted in oranges and purples, and the beach was deserted- that made him happy. That's not to say that when he's with his siblings he isn't happy- his family makes him even happier!- but on days where a lot of his part time jobs take place, it's really nice to take a break from everything- specifically, Kano.

"Hnnng..."

Seto looked up, and about 20 feet away, he saw a young girl with a bunch of whitish blonde hair lying face down in the sand.

"Ah! Miss, are you alright?"

In no time at all the 17 year old was by her side, and the girl groaned again, not even moving. Worried, Seto gently pushed her onto her back to see if she was alright when a small gasp escaped his lips.

For a moment, he thought that the girl had no clothes on whatsoever, but after his eyes adjusted, he realized she was, at least, wearing a pale pink bikini top. His eyes traveled downwards, and yet another gasp escaped his lips.

For, where two human legs should have been, were a pair of pearly pink mermaid fins.

"W-what...?"  
Rubbing his eyes, Seto blinked once, then twice, expecting them to turn into regular human legs. _Summer illusions,_ he thought, but no matter what he did, they remained the same.

"Hnm..."

The girl stirred a bit, but remained unconscious, and Seto's mind raced.

_This is impossible,_ he thought, _but I can't just leave her here!_

"M-miss, are you alright?"

The girl flinched, before slowly opening her eyes. "Wha...?"

Before Seto could say anything else, slowly, as if it was all just a summer illusion the whole time, a snapping noise could be heard while the scales on the girl's tail fell off, and it split into two, regular legs, and a bikini bottom the same color as her top appearing.

Upon hearing the noise, the girl slowly sat up, and looked at her now-finless legs, her mouth dropping into a round 'o'. By now, most of the scales were gone, save for a few that seemed stuck into the girl's skin. "My..."

The girl trailed off, obviously confused. Wiggling her toes, she didn't notice that there was a boy by her until he cleared his throat.

"U-uwah!"

She flung herself to the ground, hiding beneath her hair, and Seto sighed. He was confused as well, though he was sure that he was at least taking it well.

"A-are you alright?"

The girl peeked up at him, her bright pink eyes staring at him curiously. ". . . ."

They both were silent for a moment, and after Seto thought she wasn't going to speak, he decided to speak again.

"I'm Kousuke, but just call me Seto."

". . . ."

Sighing at the girl's silence, he stayed crouching down next to her. "We-"

"I'm Marry... Kozakura."

It was so quiet that he almost missed it, but luckily he stopped talking right when she started, so he caught it.

"Marry, huh?" The girl nodded hesitantly, before pushing herself back up in a sitting position. "Do you need help?"

He didn't really know what to say. What _do_ you say to a stranger-than-strange girl that you found on the beach? 'Hello, do you need a place to stay?'

Even in his head that sounded stupid and creepy, especially since they had just met.

Luckily, he was saved the task of talking when she opened her mouth again. "What are these?"

He looked down to where she was pointing at her two legs, and he sighed again. He would try to help this girl to the best of his ability, but how could he when he himself didn't really understand what was going on?

"Those are legs..."

Marry was quiet a moment, looking at the two lower limbs as she wiggled her toes. After a moment, she scrunched up her face again. "Where.... Are my fins?"

Seto couldn't answer her. He didn't know how to answer her without accidentally freaking the girl out, so instead, he asked _her_ a question.

"Marry, what are you?"

"A mermaid!"

She didn't hesitate at all to say it as she beamed up at him, and he nodded, slowly understanding the situation. It was obvious now that Marry was, in fact, a real mermaid, and somehow, her fins had disappeared. As if to make things worse, he didn't know if she was going to get her fins back or where she could even go.

"A mermaid, huh..."

While he tossed thoughts around in his head, he didn't notice the small girl try to stand up. It was only until she had stood up all of the way and then started to wobble that he started paying attention. "Whoa, careful there!"

He caught the girl before she could fall, and she looked up at him, frowning. "I-I-I'm sorry!" she said, and he sighed.

By now it was night time, and he couldn't just leave the girl alone, so he shook his head and smiled at her. "No, it's alright," he told Marry, before looking at the dark ocean. "Marry, I'm unsure of what's going on, but do you want to stay at my house for the night? And we could get you home tomorrow morning?"

Marry's face turned from curious to gloomy at the mention of home, and she looked away from the ocean. "A-ah, yes... But... Can I stay a bit longer? I can't... exactly go home. Not now."

Instead of questioning it- and oh, did Seto have a _lot_ of questions- he just nodded and ruffled her hair.

"Sure!"

He started to walk, holding her hand to make sure she wouldn't fall again, but in about thirty seconds it showed that she really did _not_ know how to move her two legs without falling.

"I don't know how to move about in these 'legs'," she murmured, frowning.

Turning around, Seto crouched down a bit with his back to Marry. "I'll carry you."

Clumsily, Marry wrapped her arms around Seto's neck and just dangled there, unsure of what to do. Thankful that his jobs had given him the strength though, he easily lifted her on his back the rest of the way and stood up straight. "Alright, now let's go home!"

As he started to walk, he could feel her slowly relax on his back, and before he knew it, she was asleep and he was opening the door to the apartment house he shared with his two siblings.

_Maybe, in the end, though, it was only a dream..._

If only it was.


	2. Chapter 1

"You've got to be kidding. I don't believe you!" A boyish, but feminine, voice whispered fiercely.

Seto shook his head at the girl. "No, I'm telling the truth, she really is a mermaid!"

"Kidooo~ He's telling the truth, she still has some scales on her legs~!"

"Shut up!"

The girl- Kido- whacked the other boy on his head, forgetting momentarily to whisper.

"Hnnnmm..."

The three siblings fell silent as they all watched the girl move around in her sleep, before going still again.

"Listen," Kido said, her voice falling back into a whisper, "if she  _is_  a mermaid, it wasn't safe to bring her here. Did you ask her what happened, yet?"

"Well... No," Seto admitted, but upon the look his sister was giving him, he quickly added on, "but I was going to!"

"I think Seto was correct in helping a  _damsel in distre_ -"

_Smack!_

The other boy, Kano, fell to the ground as Kido glared at him with her fist still in the air.

"When she wakes up, we can ask," Seto told Kido, "but for now let's leave her be. She's sleeping."

"S-Seto?"

The three (Kano having stood back up) looked toward Marry, who was now sitting up in the spare bed that she was placed in last night.

"Ah, Marry... You're awake."

"What's going on?"

"Well-"

"Is it true you're a mermaid?" Kano interrupted, looking interested, and Kido hit him on the head again.

"Shut up, idiot."

"I..."

Seto sighed, seeing how Marry was at a loss.

It was going to be a long morning.

* * *

"Momo, this is Marry. Marry, this is Momo."

A girl with short orange hair in a side ponytail smiled brightly at the smaller, whitish-blonde girl.

"Hi Marry! I'm Momo! Oh, and Kido texted me asking to bring some clothes, so... Here!"

Momo thrust a plastic shopping back towards Marry, who took it and peered inside the bag. "...'Clothes'?"

Marry, who was still in her bikini from the night before, stared at the garments strangely.

"Aha, yes! Uhm, you wear them, like this!"

Momo pulled the fabric of her pink hoodie out as if to prove her point.

Kido sighed, taking Marry by the arm and gently pulling her back into the spare room. Before Momo had come over, Kido had taught Marry how to walk. Although she could walk though, the girl was extremely clumsy, and had already tripped and broken one vase within the hour that she had been awake.

After closing the door, Kido had turned around to see Marry unsuccessfully trying to pull on a blue dress that had a white apron attached to it.

_I really need to ask Momo about her style..._  Kido thought, going over to help the girl pull the dress on.

"Marry," Kido said, getting the girl's attention. "Are you sure you want to wear this?"

Marry furiously nodded as Kido helped her put it on, not paying attention to the green haired girl's sigh.

_Oh well_...  _I guess it can't be helped._

* * *

A few moments later, with Marry in her new dress and everybody situated in the living room, Kido decided to start questioning the girl.

"Marry, can you tell us exactly what happened? How you got here?"

Marry nodded, looking down and fiddling with her apron. "I... My grandma runs the kingdom from where I'm from. My mother disappeared a while ago, and although my grandma is in perfect health, she wants to resign from the throne. Except... I'm the only heir, and I can't inherit the throne without a king..."

Everybody listened intently, as Marry continued, her voice staying quiet throughout the whole conversation.

"But I didn't want to wed, so my grandma tried setting me up with a guy who she deemed as "good" for the throne, but... He had a different plan in mind. He was going to take control of the kingdom, and my grandma couldn't see that..."

Before she could continue on, Momo interrupted her. "Marry, how...  _old_  are you?"

"14."

"How old is this guy?"

Marry was silent for a moment before looking up at Momo, her face gloomy. "19..."

Momo started to splutter, and the other three looked fairly surprised as well. "Did you try to tell your grandma? Or is that why you ran away?"

Marry's eyes widened. "I-I didn't run away!"

"Oh, were you just planning on taking a vacation without telling anybody?" Kano joked, but after seeing the look on Marry's face (and the scary one on Kido's), he quickly shut up.

"Then what  _did_  happen, Marry?" Seto gently asked the girl.

"Well... I found out about his plans and w-went to confront him. At first he tried pretending that he didn't know what I was talking about, and I-I guess I should have stopped, but I didn't, and... He snapped. He t-told me that if I joined him we could rule the kingdom together, but I didn't want to... That's when I swam away. I don't know how far I swam, but I got caught by a current and was knocked out by a rock, and next thing you know, I wake up with  _these_ ," she said, swinging her legs up.

Until the end of her story, everyone else had actually forgotten that she was a mermaid, and now that she had mentioned the part of her growing legs, everybody had grown silent.

"Marry, do you know what happened to your fins?"

Marry mutely shook her head.

"Do you know how to turn back?"

Again, she shook her head.

Everyone was silent for a moment, before Kido spoke up. "Well, Marry... You can stay here until we can find a way to get back," but Marry shook her head 'no'.

"I don't want to go back! Not yet, anyways..."

Sighing, Kido nodded. "Alright. You can stay."

"Th-thank you!" Marry said, her eyes shining brightly. "Oh, and by the way... What  _are_  you guys?"


	3. Chapter 2

It's now been a month since Marry had started living with Seto Kousuke, and boy, has this one month been a doozy. Unfamiliar with practically everything in the human world, Marry had all sorts of questions. Just last week she had to have an exasperated Kido explain to her the importance of baths and hygiene (both unfamiliar concepts with Marry), and Kano wasn't helping in anyway. Before Marry had hopped into the shower, Kano had fed her the lie that when turned on, the shower head turned into a dragon that would spew hot water at her, and that since it wasn't use to Marry, it would burn her. Naturally, Marry got terrified (and she didn't even  _know_  what a dragon was!), and had to have Kido console her.

On the brighter side for the 14 year old girl, though, Marry was very happy with her new life. It was definitely strange- so many things to learn!- and confusing, but she had made friends and hadn't even thought once about the problems at home. Since she met Momo, she had also met Hibiya, a usually cynical and angry 12 year old, Hiyori, a popular and very cheerful 12 year old (with whom Hibiya was obsessed with), Momo's older brother Shintaro, a NEET, and Takane, a girl who she has only seen in a weird box thing because she's always busy with her part time job at a gaming station. Also, she was learning all sorts of things about this new world! 

"Seto?" Marry asked timidly as Seto and Kano talked about something- a vacation? she wasn't paying attention. "C-can I go to town with you today?"

Seto was in a pickle. On one hand, he wanted to show her all of the stuff they had in the human world, and plus, she hasn't really left the house since her arrival. On the other hand, although not big, it was a Saturday afternoon. The town was bustling this time of day. He didn't want to lose her or have her get overwhelmed. And then there was all of the questions he would have to prepare for!

One look at the albino's face though made him decide his answer.

"Of course!" 

Marry beamed up at Seto. "Thank you!"

Overhearing the conversation, Kido walked into the living room. "If you're taking her to the marketplace, make sure to buy groceries. We're running low, and Haruka and Takane are coming over to visit next weekend- so we'll need more."

Marry didn't know who Haruka was, but if she was a friend of Takane's, she was a friend of Marry's!

"I'll keep that in mind," Seto said, putting on his tennis shoes. Marry- who was wearing the same blue dress Momo got her- had slipped on some brown boots Momo had lent her earlier. Although it seemed weird- especially to Kido!-, the two garments matched well. Anyways, nobody was going to tell Marry that normal people didn't wear boots and dresses together. "You ready to go?"

Marry nodded excitedly. She was loads nervous, but also so excited.

As the pair left the house, Marry pointed excitedly at multiple things- car, vendors, people with weird hats-, asking Seto questions about them. Seto, not wanting to let her down, made sure to explain everything to her. If she was going to be living in their world for a bit, she might as well know about it.

"Oh, that?" Seto asked as Marry pointed at some store mannequins on display. "Those are mannequins, they aren't real-"

Cutting him off, Marry squealed as she pointed at a vendor who was selling hair accessories, including flowers, ribbons, and pins. "Oh, Seto, can I have one?"

Pulling out some pocket change, Seto walked with her over to the stand. 

Picking up a salmon-pink hair ribbon, Marry smiled fondly, remembering something from the past. "When I was little, I use to tie my hair up with a something of the same color I had found in a shipwreck... I always wore it, but I guess it got lost when I was knocked out," she said ruefully, the problems at home flashing through her mind for a moment. Putting a hand on her shoulder gently, the brown eyed boy smiled down at Marry.

"Do you want me to buy you one? It's called a ribbon," Seto said, and Marry brightened up, nodding her head up and down.

"Please!!"

Handing the vendor a dollar bill, Seto took the ribbon and fixed it into her hair, tying it in a bow to the left. "How is that?"

Instead of saying anything, Marry beamed happily up at the taller boy, before looking at another store that was giving out cupcake samples.

"Oh! Can I try one?"  
  


* * *

 

By the end of the day, the two came home holding a bunch of bags, and although Seto looked a bit tired, Marry looked as happy as ever, since she had learned so many new things. What would her grandma say back at home?

"Dinner just got done," Kido said, peeking her head out of the kitchen. "Welcome back."

Kano, sporting an ice pack on a blackened eye, grinned at the two. "What happened?" Seto asked, although he had a feeling that it had something to do with Kido.

"I told Kido I liked her flat chest more than Momo's la- oof!"

Kido, who had walked into the room, hit him on the head with a frying pan, a vicious glare painted on her features. "Shut  _up_ ," she hissed, before looking at Seto and Marry. "You two can just set the bags down for now. The table is already set, so let's eat," she said, walking back to the dining room where the meal she had cooked was on the table.

"Um, Kido, why are there only three places?"

Kido looked at the spots, then to Seto, Marry, and Kano. "Kano can get his own plate."


	4. Chapter 3

After dinner (in which Kano had to eat in the kitchen, because Kido wouldn't let him sit at the table), as Seto got up to was the dishes, Kido decided to talk to Marry about her home to hopefully have more insight on the situation.

"So Marry," Kido started, unsure of where to start. Momo and Seto were  _much_  better than this stuff than she was- or even Haruka! Momo and Haruka weren't there, and Seto was washing dishes and already had enough on his plate (no pun intended), so it was up to her. She  _was_  the leader of the Mekakushi Dan, the gang her and her friends were in. Might as well act like one.

Marry, on the other hand, looked at the green haired girl, oblivious to Kido's awkwardness. "Yes?"

Kido sighed. She might as well get it over with. "Can you tell me more about your home?" she asked, ready to see Marry's face drop or to hear the albino girl say 'no'. However, Marry's response was  _not_  what she expected- she nodded excitedly.

"Oh, yes! It's all the way in the sea, near the bottom. It's beautiful there, and the sand is so soft! The kingdom there is ruled by my grandmother, Azami, and a bit outside the kingdom is the ship graveyard, where a bunch of ships have sunk. I used to go there a lot and explore," she said, smiling slightly at some memories that resurfaced. "Most people there were kind to me and each other, and everybody got along just fine. My grandmother is a great ruler, and before my mother disappeared, she was as well. We've never had any rebellions, or uprisings, or any sort of conflict. It was so peaceful..."

Marry trailed off, frowning. Oh, how she missed the ocean. The feel of the gentle current when she was swimming, the golden sand that glittered, and the assortment of seashells and strange objects from ships that she used to collect. She missed her home, and most of all, she missed her grandmother and mother.

"I wish I could go back..." she murmured, looking down, and Kido sighed. She hadn't meant to upset Marry, and now she didn't know if she should continue her questioning or not. However, she still wanted to know somethings, and she knew Marry probably was just homesick. Kido didn't blame her- the poor girl was in a strange land filled with strangers and too many things that she didn't understand! It was understandable that Marry was homesick.

"I have one more question," Kido slowly said, knowing this was going to be a touchy topic. Marry looked back at Kido but didn't say anything, waiting for her to go on, in which Kido did. "Can you tell me more about the guy that your grandma tried to Marry you to?"

Marry shook her head, frowning once again. "I'm sorry, but is it alright if we don't talk about him now? I can tell you later, but right now..."

Again, Marry trailed off, but this time it was in discomfort. She disliked the guy in question, and truth be told, he terrified her a bit- no, she didn't want to think about him now, or ever. However, she knew that sooner or later she would have to fill Kido in on everything. For now, it was going to be later rather than sooner.

Kido nodded, not surprised by this answer. "I understand, take all the time you need," she said, before standing up from the table. "I'm heading to bed early- tomorrow we're having two guests come over," she said, and Marry's look of gloom changed to one of curiosity. "You've already met one of them, but Takane and another friend, Haruka, are coming over here for a couple days. We're all going on vacation," she explained, smiling slightly. In particular, Kido and Seto had planned this vacation especially for Marry, knowing she would enjoy it, but for now they were keeping it a surprise.

"A vacation?" Marry asked, tilting her head. "Who's coming with us?"

Kido made a quick list in her head, checking the people off as she said them. "You, me, Seto, Kano, Momo, Hibiya, Takane, Haruka, and Shintaro," she said, going over that list once to make sure it was right. "Hiyori was supposed to come as well, but she had prior plans with some of her friends," she explained.

Marry nodded, a slight smile growing. "I haven't had a vacation in a loooong time," she said, spreading her arms out wide to emphasize her words. "Although, I guess right now, in a sense, I  _am_  on vacation, right?"

Kido chuckled, walking by Marry and ruffling her hair. "I guess you are," she said, heading to her room. "We're leaving tomorrow, and don't worry- Momo's got your bag packed."

Marry nodded and stood up as well, not asking why Momo had packed her bag. She trusted them enough to not ask any questions about stuff like that, and anyways, Momo always had cute things for Marry.

Quickly peeping her head in the kitchen, Marry waved at Seto. "Thank you for today!" she said, smiling brightly at him, and Seto nodded, smiling as well.

"No problem, Marry! I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, still washing the dishes.

Marry nodded happily and went to the guest room (after telling Kano 'good night' as well) to change in her pajamas. Once that was all done, she sighed and sat by the window, looking up at the stars.

"Grandmother... I know you're probably worried sick about me right now," Marry started, her voice almost inaudible, "but I'm doing fine. I'm somewhere above the sea and on the shore. I don't know how, but my fins have disappeared- I  _am_  alright, though. I've made some new friends here who are very kind to me and take care of me, and I am very happy to have met them. I don't know when my fins will grow back, if they do at all, but when everything is fixed and  _he's_  gone, I'll come back, I promise. I just can't stand being there right now, especially with  _him_  around, always watching my every move. I don't know if you have noticed his true nature yet, but I hope you do soon, and I hope you stay safe."

Marry finished, sighing and closing her eyes.  _I wish upon these stars that, somehow, somewhere, my grandmother_ will  _get this message_.


	5. Chapter 4

Somewhere, deep under the sea, a mermaid with long black hair tied up in a red ribbon was scowling at the situation that had arisen.

"Just give up. You're not going to find her," she told another guy, who had short black hair and yellow eyes that reminded her of a snake. He used to be somebody she trusted, a royal adviser, but after the disappearance of her granddaughter, the merman had taken over the kingdom and imprisoned the mermaid with black hair.

The merman scowled back at the girl with black hair, swimming about the room impatiently. "You don't know what I'm capable of,  _Azami_. I  _will_  find her, and I already have a lead." The merman sneered at Azami, and her red eyes narrowed behind the bars she was stuck behind.

"Oh? If you have a lead, then enlighten me, Kuroha. Tell me where my granddaughter is."

Kuroha smirked, stopping and crossing his arms as he looked at Azami. Although she was the grandmother of the person he was looking for, she looked to be the same age as him. He knew it was because of her queenly blood that she wasn't aging, but it still irked him to no end, especially because she still had that condescending look in her eyes.

"I know you tried to keep her from finding about the human world, but I know that's where she ended up. I had people search all over the oceans from top to bottom, and she wasn't found," he said, raking his hand through his hair. "What's even better was the direction she was last seen going in had a strong current that led to the shores of a place not to far from here, and it's possible that she accidentally turned human without realizing it, leaving her stranded in that world. You may have wanted to keep her safe from there, but because of her ignorance and inexperience, it'll be easier to find her."

Azami glared at him as Kuroha cackled, grinning psychotically. "You won't find her. The human world is too big for you to search it all, and she isn't completely naive," she replied, and Kuroha swam up to the front of Azami's small cell.

"You underestimate me,  _your majesty_ ," he said, his voice mocking as he used her old title. "She's the princess. I'll find her eventually, and when I do, you both will be imprisoned for life, and  _I_  will rule this worthless kingdom."

Without another word, the yellow-eyed merman swam out of the small room, leaving Azami to sit and contemplate about what happened.

"God damn it!" she exclaimed, after a couple of moments, frustration etching into her face. "I should have listened to Marry when she told me her suspicions of that wretched snake... I just hope she's alright," she said to herself, getting up and swimming back and forth inside of the small prison cell. "If only Shion was still alive... although, she would just be imprisoned, with me. I must escape and protect my kingdom. I must  _not_  let Kuroha find Marry."

* * *

Marry looked up at the two newcomers, although, in a sense, she had already known one of them.

"I thought Haruka was a girl," she said as Kido introduced her to them. However, the new person in front of her was not a girl, but a tall boy with messy black hair, a carefree smile, and a mole on his cheek. The other girl Marry did know, although this was her first time meeting her in person- it was Takane, the girl in the box.

"Nope, I'm as much as a guy as Shintaro is!" Haruka said happily, and Takane rolled her eyes.

Marry glanced at Shintaro, who was sitting on the couch and doing something on his new phone. Marry had broken his old one out of excitement, and then Seto had to explain to her what phones were. She was surprised he could get it by this morning, though! The human world sure was fast!

"Well," Kido said, doing a quick head check, "everybody's here now. We might as well head to the beach and check into the hotel Kisaragi got us," she said, referring to Momo. Marry never got why some people were called by their last names, but she wasn't going to complain.

"I'll drive," Shintaro offered, happy that they didn't have to at least take the bus, and as they all walked outside, their bags already loaded, Marry stopped, staring at the giant red van in distaste. She's only been in a car one other time, and she most definitely didn't like it.

 _Oh well..._  she thought irritably.  _Hopefully it'll be a quick ride._

* * *

Marry stumbled out of the van, tired and ornery from the long car trip. She was squished between Kano and Seto, the former whom kept teasing her, and she did  _not_  like cars. She was hoping that this time the ride would be more bearable, but Kano made sure that  _that_  wasn't possible (even if he didn't mean to). It had been a long day, and she just wanted to eat and then go to sleep.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Seto asked Marry, looking down and noticing how exhausted she looked. However, Marry looked back up at Seto, nodding.

"Yeah! I missed the ocean," she admitted, closing her eyes and sighing lightly as a few memories resurfaced from her childhood. Seto chuckled.

"I bet. This beach is a lot nicer than the one you washed up on as well. We didn't think you'd want to be so close to your home..." he trailed off, unsure of how Marry would react, but she brightened up, all signs of crankiness disappearing. He continued, "It was Momo's idea. She said this place was really nice anyways, so hopefully you'll have fun!"

Marry smiled happily up at Seto, swinging her arms back and forth as they walked with the rest of the group. "Thank you, then! I can't wait!"

Momo, overhearing the conversation, grinned back at the albino. "That's good to hear! We can all go to the beach tomorrow, but for now we should all just settle in. They have a really nice hot spring and bathhouse here!"

Although Marry didn't really know what a bathhouse was, she smiled back at the orange-haired girl nonetheless. "It sounds fun!" she replied, and Momo grinned, hooking her arm underneath Marry's.

"It is! Now, for our rooms~! The girls get one, and the boys get the other, so we'll see you at dinner guys! Bye!" With that said, Momo dragged Marry to their room, Kido and Takane following them quickly as they separated.

Oh, this weekend was most definitely going to be fun.


	6. Chapter 5

The room that Momo, Marry, Kido, and Takane were sharing was definitely big, and Marry smiled happily as she looked out the window. Luckily, their room was facing the ocean, and Marry felt a pang of homesickness when she looked out at the blue waves that were currently calm. Momo walked up beside her, smiling softly as well.

"You really miss it there, don't you?" she asked, and Marry nodded, her smile dimming a bit. There was no point in hiding the fact that she missed her home- if she had the choice, she wouldn't have even swam away. Thinking back on it now, Marry felt as if she could have stood up to the man her grandmother had tried wedding her with, but instead she had ended up swimming off, getting knocked out in the process and landing herself in an unfamiliar world.

Momo ruffled Marry's hair, still smiling. "Don't worry, everything will work out, I promise!"

Marry didn't say anything and instead continued looking out at the ocean, sighing wistfully. Momo, not satisfied with Marry's lack of response, grinned.

"Here, let's go to the indoor hot spring! It's nice there, and I think you'll love it," she said, and Kido walked towards them as well.

"You guys can go without me. I'm going to set up our futon beds," she said, and Momo let out a whine.

"Danchou, come with us! Please!"

Seeing the look on Momo's face, Kido's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Fine," she said, "but only for a little bit."

The four girls, after grabbing some towels, made their way to the hot springs, not even bothering to tell the others. Anyways, since there was separate ones for the boys and girls, it wouldn't have mattered anyways.

"We're here," Momo declared, ushering Marry inside the changing room. Kido and Takane followed, and Marry stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Basically," Momo started to explain, "you get undressed, wrap the towel around you, and when you get to the hot spring, you take the towel off and get in. Also, we'll need to wrap a towel around your hair, since it's really long."

Although she found it quite awkward, Marry did just that, clumsily wrapping the towel around her as Momo wrapped her hair up (the best she could). "Is it like taking a bath?" she asked, and Takane nodded, answering.

"Yeah, except you don't use soap and shampoo in hot springs."

Marry let out a small "oh" and nodded, smiling. "I like baths!"

Kido chuckled, but didn't say anything as they all left the changing rooms and approached the large hot spring.

Without a second thought or no sense of modesty, Momo dropped her towel and ran and jumped into the middle of the hot spring. Luckily, nobody else was there, but Kido still chided Momo when she resurfaced.

"You shouldn't do that. You could have slipped or hurt yourself!" she scolded, and Momo shrugged, her palms facing up.

"But I didn't, so I'm perfectly fine now!"

Takane shook her head at their antics, getting into the hot spring as well and leaning against a large rock that was sanded down to have a smooth surface. "Ah… This feels good."

Kido and Marry followed suit, although Marry was a bit hesitant on getting in the hot spring. The water was a greenish, which was a bit weird (to her, anyways), and steam hung thickly in the air, making it hard to see.

"Why is the water green?" Marry asked, dipping a foot in to see if it was too hot. Although it was- there was a reason steam was rising off of it- it wasn't hot to the point of scalding.

"There's minerals in it to help rejuvenate the skin," Kido told her, quickly getting in and sinking low so nobody would see anything. Marry slid in as well, sighing happily.

"It's so nice here!"

Momo nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is! I can't wait to go to the beach tomorrow, though! We can play volleyball and swim and even play suikawari!"

Marry scrunched up her nose at the unfamiliar term. Although Momo and Seto have explained to Marry about the different sports such as volleyball and tennis, she was unfamiliar with the last word. "Suika…wari?" Marry asked, tilting her head. "What's that?"

"Well," Momo said slowly, as if looking for the right words, "suikawari is watermelon splitting! You lay out a watermelon on a piece of plastic, and then each person gets blindfolded and has to try to crack open the watermelon with a large wooden stick. Afterwards, we all eat the watermelon! You've tried watermelon before, right?"

Marry nodded, smiling. "Yeah! It's really good!" she exclaimed, and Momo nodded.

"Yeah! I know!"

For a few moments it was silent, and Marry sat happily with Kido, Momo, and Takane, cherishing the peaceful moment.

"Alright," Kido said after a couple more minutes, "we should probably get out now. We still have to have dinner with the others," she explained, and Momo puffed out her cheeks, getting ready to protest. However, Takane was on Kido's side.

"Kido's right. Anyways, we can come back tomorrow," she said, and Momo sighed in defeat.

"We weren't even here for 30 minutes," she grumbled, getting out of the hot spring and wrapping the towel around herself, before trudging to the changing rooms. Marry stayed where she was.

"You promise we'll come back tomorrow?" she asked, and Kido nodded, knowing that Momo would probably kill them if they didn't.

Satisfied with this answer, Marry got up as well, going to the changing rooms to get dressed.

Once the four of them were dressed, they went back to their room.

"Our room and the boys' room is connected, so we can eat together," Kido said, walking into their room and to a side wall, where Marry noticed there was actually a side door there. After knocking three times, Kido opened the door.

"Oh, Kido!" a voice called out, and Marry scrunched her nose up, trying to match the voice to a name. Haruka?

Kido crossed her arms, looking into the other room, and Marry walked over as well. "You guys ready to eat?" she asked, and a chorus of "yeah!"s were shouted from everybody, causing Marry to wince at the loud noise. Kido, however, was unfazed, and just shifted her weight to her left food impatiently. "Then hurry up so I can have food sent up here."

However, everyone else had different dinner ideas.

"I think we should order pizza!"

"Can we get take out?"

"We should eat out!"

A bunch of requests started to pile up, and Kido couldn't help but groan at the onslaught of dinner suggestions. Rubbing her temples, she glared at everyone, effectively shutting them up.

"Fine. I'll order a cheese pizza or two. Are you guys happy?" she asked, and although a few people made noises of disappointment (mainly Kano), everyone else seemed to be satisfied with pizza for dinner.

After about 30 minutes of waiting, and setting up a table in the boys' room, the pizza arrived, and everyone started to dig in.

"So, what are tomorrow's plans?" Haruka asked, attempting to make conversations, and everyone shrugged.

"Well, I want to play volleyball and suikawari," Momo said, already on her third piece of pizza, "and I would also want to go into the hot spring again."

Kano nodded. "Yeah, yeah, Seto and I bought a big watermelon for the splitting!" he exclaimed a bit too loudly, and Kido elbowed him in the side hard, causing him to choke on his pizza.

And so the dinner continued with idle chatter, everybody joking around and having a good time before Marry realized something. They all talked about swimming, but they didn't have any fins!

"How do you guys swim without fins or a tail?" Marry asked suddenly, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. She never questioned it until now, but her mermaid tail was what helped propel her everywhere!

Seto laughed at Marry's question. "You can swim with legs, as well! I'll have to show you how to swim, tomorrow," he said, and Marry smiled happily. She loved spending time with Seto, and it definitely made her happy to know he was going to willingly spend time with her!

"Thank you, Seto!" she said, not noticing the light pink that appeared on Seto's cheeks.

"Y-yeah, no problem, Marry," he replied, looking away. Marry, however, didn't notice the strangeness in his behavior and went back to eating, once again absorbed in the dinnertime conversations for the rest of the night.


	7. Chapter 6

The next morning, everybody woke up early to go to the beach, excited for the fun-filled day that was ahead of them.

"Momo, what's this?" Marry asked curiously, holding up a light pink one piece bathing suit. It was definitely cute, what with the tiny frilly straps and how it had a tiny skirt on the bottom, along with a bow on the chest and on the back of where her neck would be, but Marry didn't understand what it  _was_.

"It's a bathing suit," Momo explained patiently, smiling. "You wear it to go swimming and to play on the beach!"

Marry let out a small 'oh', before nodding. "Alright," she said. "I'll go put it on now, then!"

Running to the bathroom, Marry quickly got changed into the bathing suit, and when she exited, Momo helped tie her hair up in her pink ribbon to make sure it wouldn't get in her eyes.

Once everybody was done getting ready and packing their purses and day bags, the group of teens made their way down to the beach, making sure to put on lots of sunscreen (much to Kido's and Seto's insistence) before they started playing.

"Everyone wants to play volleyball first," Seto told Marry when she excitedly ran towards the ocean. "Can I teach you to swim later?"

Marry, of course, nodded, smiling happily. At least she was at the beach!

"I'd rather not play volleyball though, so can I collect seashells and watch you guys?" she asked, and Seto nodded, ruffling her hair.

"Of course!"

Seto jogged over to Kano and Momo to help them set up the nets, and Marry watched, along with Shintaro, as they all picked teams, getting ready to play. Abandoning her search for seashells, Marry sat down on the hot sand and instead opted to watch them play. Even though she wasn't involved, it was definitely fun to see them all compete against each other, laughing and bantering playfully (besides the times Kido hit Kano in the back of the head with the volleyball). Part of Marry wished she could join the others in playing volleyball as well, but she was still clumsy with her legs. Anyways, she was too scared to speak up, and didn't really understand all of the rules to this game.

She remembered, back when she was younger and played with her friends near the ship graveyard, they all had a game slightly similar to this. They would look for a round object somewhere in one of the ships, and bounce it to each other, trying to keep it from touching the sand. They didn't have teams, or points, and the only rule was to keep it floating, but nonetheless volleyball reminded her of a much more intense version of the childhood game. Another memory that resurfaced was that one of her 'friends' was the guy her grandmother tried wedding her to. At the time, he was always nice, albeit formal (no matter the settings). He always called her 'princess' or 'your majesty',and it had always bothered her, but back then, he was polite.

It was only until much later that Marry had realized that her 'polite' childhood friend was volatile and dangerous, having insidious plans in store once he married Marry and took the throne. Maybe he  _was_  kind at one point, but as Marry looked back now, there was always that spark of annoyance he had with her. A spark of impatience, maybe, or that smile that was sickly sweet, like he was hiding something evil.

It sickened her to think that her one, true 'friend' was the reason she was in hiding. It sickened her to think that she was in danger because of him.

Wrapped up in her thoughts, Marry didn't see the flying white ball until it was too late, hitting her straight in the face.

She toppled backwards, her eyes tearing up as her forehead turned red from where the ball smacked her. It wasn't too hard, for somebody had just hit the ball in the wrong way and it went backwards instead of forwards, but nonetheless it hurt.

"Marry! Are you alright?"

Takane- she must have been the one who messed up the hit- ran to Marry with the others, concern written all over her face. Wincing, Marry just nodded, covering her forehead with her hand.

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry, I was out of it and didn't see the ball flying towards me," she told everyone, smiling sheepishly. Kido sighed, gently moving Marry's hand to look at her forehead.

"Ah... it might bruise, but you should be fine," she said, and Marry nodded. She wasn't really too worried about it, anyways. The pain was already starting to fade away, and although her head throbbed a bit from an incoming headache, it definitely wasn't the kind of pain that would last.

"Maybe we should stop playing volleyball for a bit... Anybody want to play suikawari now?"

* * *

So the day continued, the group of teens splitting watermelon, having seashell hunts, dunking each other into the ocean, and having intense volleyball matches that usually ended up in somebody getting hurt on accident.

As the sun was setting, Marry puffed out her cheeks, tugging on Seto's arm as he talked to Haruka about his part time job at the pet store.

"Seto, you promised you would teach me how to swim!" Marry reminded him once he finished his conversation, and Seto sighed, smiling down at her.

"Alright, a promise is a promise," he said, taking her to the ocean and leading her out a bit farther than she had traveled during the day. Once they were at a good enough distance, Seto started to demonstrate to Marry how to swim. "You should keep your feet above the water when paddling, and move your arms," Seto mimicked the arm movements for doing the front stroke, "like this."

Marry nodded, and as Seto helped her float and stay in place, Marry practiced making the movements. After a few trial and error of her practicing the swimming movements, she beamed up at Seto, who smiled back at her just as brightly.

"You're getting better! Try to swim around a bit to get the feel of it," he suggested.

Seto let go of Marry, and although her movements were a bit sloppy, she managed to swim for a short time, the water splashing up around her as she kicked her feet. Once Marry was used to the swimming, she looked back at Seto, who was busy trying to fend Kano off from a sneak attack. Wanting to impress Seto, Marry dived under, her swimming getting better as she started to swim towards the bottom.  _If I can swim under Seto and then appear right beside him, that would surely scare him!_  she thought excitedly, instinctively inhaling and breathing in the salty sea water.

However, what she had forgotten was that the human body didn't have the organs mermaids have that can turn water into oxygen for them to breathe. Spluttering, Marry tried to cough up the water she inhaled, her swimming movements coming to a halt as she went into a fit of coughing. However, this made it worse, and she started to try to swim back upwards. She needed to reach to the surface, to get air before she suffocated!

Marry started to swim up, but didn't make it far as her leg caught on something. Looking down in panic, Marry realized that she had, indeed, made it to the bottom, and her leg had gotten tangled in seaweed.

 _No, no, no!_  Marry thought, her eyes tearing up.  _I can't die here! I can't!_

She attempted to close her mouth to keep the water from entering her system, but that failed as she went into another coughing fit, and Marry looked upwards feebly, seeing a figure dive underwater.

 _It's probably Seto... I hope he isn't worrying_ , she thought weakly, her vision rimming in black as her head grew fuzzy.  _It hurts_...

Reaching a hand up to the figure, Marry closed her eyes, an ear-piercing ringing noise in her ears as she gave up trying to swim to the top and sunk to the bottom, her back hitting the soft sand.

_Se...to..._


	8. Chapter 7

By the time Seto had pulled Marry to the shore, he could feel his heart stop.  _How could this have happened_ , he asked himself repetitively,  _as if this was some nightmarish hell_? Marry- sweet, innocent Marry- lied lifeless in his arms, limp, and her face pale, tinged blue. Her hair, which was matted with sand, seaweed, and shells in it, lied in a tangle, the pink ribbon gone, probably at the bottom of the ocean. She didn't move at all, and Seto lied her on the sand carefully and, just in case she had a neck injury, made sure to make it so she was fully on her back.

By now, everybody was in full-out panic mode. Although it had seemed like hours for Seto to reach Marry underwater, he knew it was less than a minute, but even then, everybody seemed to know what had happened, and they crowded the two like they were some spectacle to watch. For once in his life, Seto felt claustrophobic.

"Guys, stand back!" he shouted, his voice bordering hysteria as he tried to remember what to do. Obviously, calling the police was first, but Kido had already had that taken care of, whey-faced and shaky handed. Once, for a lifeguard course a few years back, Seto had learned how to perform CPR. He tried to pull up those memories from his class, and was surprised to realize that he  _couldn't remember_. He had paid the utmost attention in that class, so how could he have forgotten every single lesson?

 _Calm down_ , Seto tried to tell himself, although he was jittery and felt cold all over. Shakily, he pressed two fingers to the inside of Marry's wrist, trying to stay level-headed. Again, he felt his heart stop for a moment, but as he waited for a few more agonizingly slow seconds, he let out a small sigh of relief. Although faint, she still had a pulse.

After trying harder to dredge of the memories of his CPR course, Seto placed his hands firmly on her chest, harshly pushing down two times and counting to three, before plugging her nose, opening her jaw slightly, and breathing into her. After 2 seconds, he got up and repeated the procedure, determined to make Marry survive.

Faintly, as though it was from a distance, he could hear crying, and only after a few moments of genuine confusion did he realize that Momo was crying, in fear of losing her friend. He didn't spare her a glance, and continued on. Press two times. Breathe. Press two times. Breathe.

He placed his fingers on the inside of her wrist, and was glad to see the pulse was there, a bit stronger. He resumed pressing down on her chest with a new found determination. It was working! Any minute now, she would surely opening her eyes and cough up water, right?

As if to answer his prayers, before he could lean down to do more mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, she started to cough up heaps of water, her eyes still closed. Marry turned on her sighed instinctively, coughing up the water, and even when it was out of her system, she still retched, coming back into consciousness and feeling like she was drowning all over again. After a moment, she heaved, throwing up her meager lunch on the sand, her eyes opening finally as she continued to retch.  
After a short while she was able to stop, still coughing every now and then. Her throat felt raw and dry, as if she was on fire in the middle of the Sahara desert, and by gods, she  _hated_  it.

Various voices cried out, a mixture of relief, happiness, and tears, and Marry weakly looked over at them. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a croak, her voice unable to make coherent words.

Seto had started to ask the younger girl if she was alright, but with the sound of the fast-approaching sirens coming towards them, his question was drowned out, and instead, Marry retched a bit more, unable to answer.

After the police and paramedics had arrived on scene to give Marry a check-up and a blanket, the group retired back to the hotel, exhausted from the day's events, especially Marry. A bruise already forming on the side of her forehead from where she was hit by the volleyball, Marry was especially worn out, her eyes drooping slightly as she looked at everything with a weary and somewhat uncaring expression. She hadn't tried talking since the incident- not so much as trauma as it was that her throat just hurt- but that didn't stop the others from talking to her. For the first couple hours they talked to her constantly, hoping to warrant some kind of response, but after a bit they all gave up, only dropping by to check on her every now and then while they horsed around in the pool and ate dinner. It was only Seto who stayed with her, making sure she was alright every half hour.

"You sure you don't want something to eat or drink?" He would constantly ask Marry, who would just shake her head and continue reading, not making any vocal sounds whatsoever. She knew with some tea and a good night's rest her throat would be better, but although her stomach felt empty, she wasn't hungry at all. She didn't feel like consuming anything, afraid for throwing it up. She was absolutely miserable, and hated how the ocean, her  _home_ , could have done this to her. Her chest hurt, her stomach hurt, her throat hurt, and everything else ached tremendously, as if she had been running a 48 hour marathon.

After another hour, Marry closed her book, startling Seto out of the slight daydream he had fallen into. "I'm... sorry," she managed to say, her voice hoarse. She winced on instinct at the roughness of her voice and throat, and Seto frowned slightly. She needed something to drink after all, and she sounded like she was smoking a pack of cigarettes each day.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Seto shook his head gently, his face softening. "It's not your fault, Marry," he reassured her, kissing her forehead tenderly. Thankfully, Momo and Takane had helped clean her up and get the sand and other objects out of her hair, one less thing for Marry to worry about later. "I'm just happy you're alright now."

Marry smiled sadly, leaning her head onto his chest, before doing something she hadn't done in a while. She cried. Not just plain, ow-I-skinned-my-knee crying, but full out  _sobbing_ , the kind that came out in large gasps and racked your body. The kind of sobbing you would cry for everything bad that has ever happened for you, and for everybody else in the world. It settled on her like a weight, and she couldn't stop, taking in large gasps of air as fat tears dripped down her face, causing a wet spot to appear in Seto's shirt. She had never felt so much in despair before, as if everything in the world was evil and nothing good would ever happen, and she hated it. She was crying for herself, for what had happened not only with the drowning incident but with her mother's disappearance and Kuroha, and she cried over being stranded in the human world, and over the fact that she had practically abandoned her grandmother to a sadistic, two-faced snake who wouldn't  _hesitate_  to kill somebody if he could get what he wanted. She cried over the fact that she had made friends, and the fact that she had never met her father, and for everybody else in the goddamned world, human or otherwise. She wasn't the only one feeling miserable, and as she thought that, it made it worse. Everybody had an individual life to live out, with their own problems and miseries and accomplishments and failures, and she cried for them as well, her fists balling up into Seto's shirt.

"There, there," he whispered soothingly, rubbing circles into her back with his knuckles as she cried, and as he heard her sob, he could feel his heart break slightly. He hated seeing people in pain, and least of all, he hated seeing  _Marry_  in pain.

It took nearly 10 minutes for Marry to calm down, and Seto could feel her relax slightly in his arms as her sobs became drier and as she started to hiccup, still drawing in watery gasps. He stayed where he was, sitting on the edge of Marry's bed as he held her, closing his eyes and muttering reassuringly to her, telling her she would be alright and that everything would be just fine. Despite his attempts to cheer her up, something nagged inside of Marry, something that made it so she didn't believe him. In the pit of her stomach, which was sinking faster and faster, she knew that none of them would be alright, and her least of all, because if there was one thing she  _did_  remember from when she was drowning in the ocean, it was the way the cool water rushed around and whispered to her as her back had hit the sand. It was evident to her in the waves, the breeze, and the ocean life.  _He_  was coming, and she didn't have a clue on what she could do.

She didn't think the others would, either.

* * *

"Ah, how refreshing. I haven't been in  _this_  form for a while," a young man said, walking down the beach with his hands shoved in his pockets. Wearing an ensemble of black and grey clothing, Kuroha knew he probably looked weird to bystanders, but he didn't care. He could feel it in his blood that this was the town where he would pick up clues on his  _beloved_  princess, the one whom had run away without asking for permission. He found it amusing. The 14 year old girl could have had it all, and could have ruled the whole kingdom by his side with him. He expected her to just say no, and after he would finish playing with her, he would have her locked up eternally in the dungeon with her filthy grandmother. He did not expect, however, for her to escape his grasp, and because of this, he found the whole thing entertaining, his lips curling upwards into a sadistic smirk. He supposed that, once he found her, he could give her one more chance to be his lovely queen before either taking her back by force or, in the worst case, just shooting her. Just the thought made his smirk grown wider as he shivered in excitement, playing with the gun that was hidden in his deep pocket. Unlike  _her_ , he knew about the human world, knew about the way it worked. To him, she was handicapped.

As he walked, Kuroha looked out at the setting sun, taking in a deep breath of air. He could  _smell_  her breezy scent, and although it had a presence in the town, she wasn't here, not now. It was too strong for her to have escaped immediately, which meant that she would most likely come back, so for now he could wait. He didn't know how far she was, and he didn't want to leave the ocean. After all, the closer he was to a large body of water, the stronger and more revived he felt. Anyways, it would be easier to take her back if she was close, and he wanted to surprise her in a place she felt (relatively) safe. He wanted to see the look of despair on her face as he stormed into her hiding place and shot whatever friends she had made. She was  _his_  after all, and even if it was still twisted, he loved her and truly  _did_  want her to be with him. He would only shoot her friends- if she had even made any- to see the look of utter horror on her face, a delicious emotion if he did say so himself. Just the mere thought of him being able to spill blood made him excited, and he sighed, bending down to pick a string that had been washing down the beach from a stream. No, not a string. A pink hair ribbon, one he had come accustomed to seeing.

Oh yes, he would  _definitely_  enjoy the despair and terror that he was going to soon bring to Marry and her new-found friends, and, fingering his gun lovingly, he had just the perfect plan. Shoving the pink hair ribbon in his pocket, Kuroha left the beach, his smirk now stretching from ear to ear, one that lied on the borderline of insanity.

"Good luck... my  _queen_."


	9. Chapter 8

" _Marry, run!"_

_The voice echoed, and Marry's eyes zeroed in on Seto in the white void they were in. He was the only one there- the others were nowhere to be found, although, judging by the panicked look on her friend's face, maybe it was a good thing that they weren't around. Something had obviously spooked the older boy, and she approached him slowly, not wanting to startle him even more._

_"Seto-"_

_Interrupting her, a loud_ crack _rang out throughout the white void, and something whizzed right past her. For a moment, Seto clutched his stomach, and she was confused. What had happened?_

_Her question was answered as she saw blood starting to blossom in sharp, red bursts in the spot where Seto was clutching, and with a brief instinct of horror, she realized something had injured him. She didn't know what- at first she thought it was a knife, but she couldn't see a handle, or anything sticking into him. Just the red blotches that grew bigger and bigger as he fell to the ground._

_Screaming out his name, she started forward, focused solely on getting help for Seto. Before she could even take two steps, two arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and she froze, not even bothering to turn around. There was no need, because only one person would have done something as vile as this- Kuroha._

_"I found you," he whispered, his lips brushing against the tip of her ear as she felt something cold and hard- was that metal?- press against the side of her head._

Click.

_Then, everything went black._

* * *

"Do you have everything packed?" Momo asked kindly, looking down at Marry, who was currently sitting down on her suitcase. She nodded, before frowning.

"Actually, I couldn't find my bathing suit. Have you seen it?" she asked, her voice sounding much better than it did a couple days ago, when she had almost drowned. The bruise on her forehead wouldn't go away for a while (that's what Shintaro said, at least), a few weeks at most, but thankfully her throat was much better the next day, and only progressed to being better as the time went on.

"Kido has it packed, don't worry," the taller girl reassured, zipping up her own orange suitcase.

Marry nodded, getting up and standing her suitcase up as she started to pull it along to the (wretched) car. Although her weekend was fun- not including the drowning incident- she couldn't wait to get home and to be in her own bed. It was a long weekend, and the sinking feeling in her stomach never went away, no matter what was going on. She didn't want to burden the others with her troubles, but at the same time, she didn't believe it necessary to keep from them such an important thing. He  _was_ coming. If there's one thing she was certain of, it was that. If the nightmares weren't a sign, it was the ocean. Every time she visited it over the weekend, words like "danger" and "run" were rushed out in the waves.

As Marry watched Momo leave the room with her two suitcases, the younger girl threw herself back on the bed, feeling slightly exasperated. What could she even do? There were so many possible outcomes to her situation, and a majority of them weren't very idealistic. She  _could_  run away, and keep her friends safe, but if there's one thing that wasn't a lie about Kuroha, it was his excellent sense of smell. He was a sadist, and she knew that if she ran away to protect them, he would find them with her lingering scent and kill them all in front of her eyes.

If Marry did decide to tell the others, there was also the problem of them trying to protect her when he came here and dying anyways. Was there any way to win, any way to defeat him? Silver powder worked against mermaids/mermen, but the chance of Marry getting hurt in the process was almost as big as Kuroha getting hurt if they used silver powder, so that was out of the question. There was also the fact that if he got hurt, all he would have to do is go in the ocean and the ocean would heal him… To Marry, it felt as if no matter what, Kuroha was going to win.

The only thing that bothered Marry was why he was coming to get her in the first place? His original goal was to take reign over the kingdom, wasn't it? So why was he after her? Surely, he would know that Marry wasn't somebody who could really fight, and so taking her back to the kingdom was pointless. Unless…

Marry shook her head, subconsciously touching her lips. He was a psycho. There was no telling in what he could do, and for now, she would have to assume the worst when it comes to him.

"Hey, Marry, you coming?"

Snapping out of her stupor, Marry looked at Takane and nodded quickly, rushing after the taller girl to the car with her small suitcase. She wasn't looking forward to the long car trip home, but at least she'd finally be away from this part of the sea, and able to relax fully. That was, in the end, what really counted, right?

* * *

"Marry… Marry, wake up," a voice murmured softly, and the 14 year old girl opened her eyes groggily to see a pair of hazel eyes staring down at her gently.

"Seto..? Are we home, yet?" She asked, her voice slurred from sleep as she stretched slightly, her hands hitting the roof of the car. Unbuckling her seat belt for her, Seto nodded, giving her an affectionate kiss on the forehead as he helped her out.

"We are," he told her. "You slept the whole way, surprisingly, and Momo and I already carried in your two bags for you." He closed the door behind her and helped her into the house, each step waking Marry up just a tiny bit more.

His eyes lingering on the bruise on her forehead, Seto sighed before ruffling Marry's hair slightly. "You go on and unpack while Kido makes dinner, alright? Everybody's going home tonight, so it'll be just us, Kido, and Kano again," he said, and Marry nodded, her eyes still slightly droopy. She was tempted to just go to her room and nap, but she knew that she should unpack first. After dinner she could sleep for the rest of the night, anyways.

"Ahh… I can't believe the weekend is over already," Marry muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes as she walked into her room. As if somebody had just poured ice down the back of her dress, Marry froze, her eyes opening all the way as she became wide awake, seeing everything with such clarity that it scared her. Something was wrong, out of place. There was an aura in her room, one that was never there, and Marry shivered, closing her door slowly. At first, she thought somebody else was in the room with her, but as her eyes scanned the room, she found it completely empty.

Walking around in a few circles, Marry took everything in, trying her best to remember where everything was before she had left. Had somebody broken in while they were on vacation? Nothing was missing, so she doubted that. However, that didn't chase away the cold feeling- in fact, it did the exact opposite, intensifying it to the point where she subconsciously rubbed her arms, her eyes wide in alarm.

Just what was wrong that she was feeling but couldn't see?

Scanning the room, Marry's gaze stopped on the desk, and she felt her lips tug downward as she walked towards it, almost mechanically, to see what exactly was on there. It looked to be a note and a pink ribbon. Was it hers…?

She shook her head quickly. She lost her pink ribbon when she was drowning during the vacation, so it was practically impossible for it to be all the way here.

However, she realized this one held a more weathered look, and with a start, she recognized it as her older one- the one she had when she was still a mermaid, the one she had lost when she was knocked out in the current.

It couldn't be… right?

Her hands trembling, Marry picked up the note slowly, reading it once, then rereading it as if it was in some language that she didn't understand.

 _I know where you are_.

It didn't have a signature, and the handwriting was in neat, almost textbook perfect cursive, but that didn't matter to Marry. Only one person could have written this, and the faded pink ribbon sealed the deal.

 _I know where you are_.

She couldn't believe this. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay here forever, and the ocean had warned her of danger, but this soon! She was most certainly not ready to leave yet, but at the same time, she couldn't put her friends in danger. Not for herself.

Tears welling up in her eyes, Marry sat down in the desk chair quickly, clutching the note and crinkling the paper. How could he have found her so soon? How did he know that this ribbon, this faulty ribbon she had gained through a shipwreck, explained where she lived? The ocean was always moving, never still. For all he knew, she could be far away from here, and the ribbon could have been carried here from a current.

Oh, but he knew. He  _knew_  where she was, and he could come after her anytime. Hell, he could be here now, so why was he waiting? Did he want to play a game of cat and mouse?

Wiping her eyes angrily, Marry crumpled the paper up and threw it at the wall, watching it bounce once to the floor. It didn't make her feel any better, but she hoped that, if Kuroha was watching, he would see how unamused she was with his "letter". She shouldn't have even been surprised. Marry knew he had an excellent sense of smell, and the ocean only enhanced it even more. She was so close to the ocean that she didn't really have a chance of hiding from him. If she had really wanted to stay away from Kuroha, she should have fled farther into the inlands.

Standing up with a resolve and looking out the window, Marry wiped at her eyes again, a determined look crossing her face. He may be after her, but so long as she stayed one step ahead, he would never get to her.

And for that to happen, she would have to run away.


	10. Chapter 9

As Marry packed her bag hastily, throwing in only necessities, she sniffed, the smell of dinner wafting up to her room. Soon, the others would be calling her down for dinner, and she knew that if she left before then they would find her. She'd have to wait until night time, when everybody else was sleeping. Until then, her goal was to act like nothing was wrong. She didn't want to spook the others, after all.

Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, there was knocking on her door, and Marry quickly picked up the small backpack. "J-Just a moment!" she cried out, and the knocking stopped. Thankfully, as Marry hastily shoved the backpack under her bed, the door never opened. Small blessings.

"I just wanted to let you know that dinner is done," a gentle voice said, and Marry let out a quiet sigh.

"Thank you, Seto. I'll be out there in a moment."

As she heard his footsteps walk back down the hall, Marry sighed once again and glanced at her reflection in the mirror that was perched upon her dresser. She was visibly pale, and her pink eyes were unnaturally wide. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Calm down, Marry," she whispered to her reflection pleadingly. "You can't let the others see you like this. Pretend nothing is wrong."

After a moment, when her skin tone had reverted to it's more normal color, Marry left her room, her bare feet padding down the wooden hallways as she walked to the dining room. Tonight it was just Seto, Kido, and Kano. The rest had gone home, wanting to rest from the excitement-filled weekend. Marry felt a pang of sadness in her heart as she realized she would never be able to say goodbye to them. Momo, Takane, and even Hibiya! Once she left, she would never see them again, along with Kido, Kano, and worst of all, Seto. She felt different towards Seto, and she wanted nothing more than to run into his arms, but if she did that then he would never be safe. If she wanted to keep him safe, she would have to leave him in the dark, just like everybody else.

 _It's for the best_ , she thought sullenly, sitting down, and Seto shot her a worried look.

"Are you alright, Marry?" he asked, and Marry's head snapped up, before she managed to give the three siblings a shaky smile.

"Yeah! I was just thinking, sorry," she apologized, and Seto nodded.

"Alright, then let's eat!"

Marry followed after Kido and Seto, putting food on her plate. They seemed to accept her answer- however, Kano didn't. He was watching her with sharp eyes, but before Marry could question it, he grinned cheekily, putting food on his plate as well. "Wow Kido, this looks good!"

"Shut up, idiot."

Marry watched the two bicker as she silently ate, Seto joining in to tease Kano or Kido every now and then. It felt like a normal night, and for the three, it was.

However, Marry couldn't force herself to eat when she didn't have an appetite, and she quickly excused herself, telling the others she was tuckered out from the weekend and was heading to bed early.

As Marry closed her door and pulled the bag out from under her bed again, she resumed packing, before giving up and sitting down on the bed and looking out the window wistfully. "Mother... I wish you were here to tell me what to do... am I really doing the right thing?" she murmured, looking up at the cloudless night sky, thousands of stars twinkling merrily without a care. Oh, how she wished she could be a star up in the sky, shining brightly and carelessly.

Getting up and walking to her desk, Marry pulled out a piece of notebook paper and a pen and started to jot down a short goodbye note, telling the others she had left for their safety and that she hoped that, one day, they'd be able to meet again. Reaching in her apron pocket, Marry almost took out some pearls to leave them, but thought against it. She was surprised she found these at the beach the other day, and she knew that they would still be caught up in this mess if she left the shiny pearls with them. She wasn't telling them why she was leaving, or where she was going- the whole letter was vague, and she just hoped that this would be enough to keep them out of harm's way.

"I'm sorry guys..."

_Knock. Knock._

Jumping, Marry quickly grabbed the note and had enough time to hide it behind her back as the door opened, and Kano stepped in the room.

"K-Kano, what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice an octave higher than usual. Her eyes darted to her packed bag, which was on the bed, and she watched as Kano looked at it as well as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Well," Kano answered, "I just wanted to see if you were okay. You didn't seem okay earlier," he said, looking back at her, but Marry could tell that he knew something was up. It was even more evident as he closed the door and leaned against it, gesturing towards the packed bag before he crossed his arms.

"So, what's up with this?" he asked, and Marry could feel her throat dry up as he continued talking, disregarding the cold and tense atmosphere. "You going on a vacation, or are you running away again?"

"I'm not running away!"

The words came out more harshly than she intended, and she had even admitted earlier that she was running away, but when Kano was the one asking if that was her motive, she didn't  _want_  to admit it. It wasn't like she asked for this- if she stayed here, they would all be slaughtered!

Kano raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. When Marry didn't, opting to stay quiet, he held out a hand expectantly, his eyes almost all-knowing. The 14 year old felt like he could see right through her, like he knew the whole situation, and she  _hated_  it. She silently handed over the hastily written goodbye note, and watched as his eyes scanned it, his lips thinning for a moment before he looked back at Marry, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Slipping the note in his pocket, Kano went back to crossing his arms and spoke again. "So you were going to leave without telling us."

It wasn't even a question, and Marry nodded numbly, confirming his statement as he strode across the room and sat down on her bed. This all seemed slightly surreal, and Marry stayed standing where she was by the dress as he still stared at her, eyes narrowed as if he was waiting for an explanation. And, Marry supposed, she  _did_  owe him- and everybody else- an explanation. She had kept him, Seto, and everybody else in the dark for too long, even going so far as to lying to them about most of her situation.

Resigned, Marry sighed, pulling out the desk chair and sitting in it, averting her eyes. It would have been easier for her to tell Momo or Seto, but neither of them were here right now, and she doubted Kano would let her leave without a full explanation. "You want me to explain?" she asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer, but wanting to reaffirm just in case.

Kano nodded, still staring sharply at her. "And don't lie either. I want the whole truth," he demanded, and Marry looked down, playing awkwardly with the hem of her apron before sighing once again, deciding to just get straight to it.

"I was telling the truth when I said my grandmother, Azami, rules the kingdom from where I am from, and it's true that I am the only heir to the throne. My mother died from a group of vigilantes wanting to end our rule, and my father disappeared long ago," she started, unsure of what else to explain, especially with the Kuroha situation.

Getting up and walking to the crumpled piece of paper she threw at the wall earlier, Marry opened it, smoothing it out before handing it to Kano. "This note... It's from Kuroha, the one who I said I was in an arranged marriage with. If he's sending this note, that means he has already succeeded in taking over the kingdom. I, myself, am not sure what his exact plans are, but I do know he's after the kingdom and a power that has been passed down throughout my family for generations," Marry continued on as Kano quickly read the note. She paced around the room, avoiding his eyes as she talked. "My grandmother, Azami, is considered to be Medusa, or at least that's what my mother and the other merfolk had said around the kingdom. Even now, although it has been centuries since her rule started, she looks just like me. She hasn't aged a bit. My mother, though,  _had_  aged, although a lot slower, and the ability has been passed down to me, where I have been alive for 140 years. I age 1 year for every 10 years, I suppose."

Marry laughed bitterly, wiping a tear away. "I have reason to believe that Kuroha knows how to gain immortality, something even  _I_  don't know. He planned to marry me and to use me to get what he wanted, or at least that is what I assume. He claimed it's because he loved me, but... I know what he is. He doesn't feel remorse or pain, let alone love. He's a soulless monster, one who just wants to see fear and suffering. Once he took over the kingdom, he planned to bring a dark rule, not only executing the rest of the royal family, but executing any rebels that got in his way. I ended up overhearing a conversation between him and one of the palace guards- a traitor, it turned out- and I confronted him about it. He fessed up, expecting me to side with him and promising me that he could give me a life of luxury. However, I refused, and told him that once I told my grandmother he would be done for.

"He didn't like that, not one bit, and he attempted to knock me out, to probably lock me in the dungeon until he had gotten what he wanted. I swam away, not even bothering to let my grandmother know, something I regret now... I guess I was afraid of being caught. I didn't have time to let her know, and if I hesitated I  _would_ have been caught. Once I got out of the kingdom, I was caught in a strong current. My head... I hit it on a rock, and when I came to, I was human and I was stranded on the beach. My mother and grandmother had sheltered me from this world, but it seems as if Kuroha knows it well, which leaves me at a disadvantage. I didn't want you guys to get hurt, so I thought if I ran towards a larger city he would leave you guys alone... I didn't mean to make it seem like I was abandoning you guys. I swear, I only wanted to keep you all safe!"

Wiping furiously at her eyes to make sure that she didn't cry, Marry stared defiantly at Kano, who stayed where he was, not bothering to comfort her and waiting for her to be able to talk again. A couple moments later and Marry felt a bit better, sitting back down in the wooden desk chair. "I just don't want you guys to get hurt because of me," she murmured quietly. "He'll slaughter you mercilessly, and I don't want that to happen..."

"What makes you think he'll leave us alone if you leave? If he's as bad as you say, wouldn't he kill us all out of spite?" Kano inquired, and Marry's gaze snapped over to him. What's worse, she knew that it was true. Even if she left, Kuroha would most likely kill them all. Wouldn't it be best for her to stay here and help protect her friends? "Running away isn't the answer. You need to tell Seto and the others the truth," he said, and Marry deflated, giving him a pleading look as she opened her mouth to argue against it.

"No. You  _have_  to tell them if you expect us to help you."

"Help... me?"

The phrase almost seemed foreign to her, and she blinked back a couple tears, staring at him in confusion. "Why would you want to help me? I lied to you about almost everything, and then nearly left to let you guys fend for yourselves..."

Kano laughed, making Marry jump. The laugh seemed so strange in such a situation, yet it also sounded so natural. What surprised her even more, though, was Kano's reply.

"We're all friends, right? We're not going to hand you over to some creep, especially since we're involved anyways," he joked, standing up and walking to the door.

"You don't have to tell them tonight, but I'll get everybody over tomorrow, and you can tell them then, alright? Don't leave anything out."

Marry nodded, swallowing back a lump in her throat as she regarded Kano with an expression mixed with incredulity at his acceptance and gratefulness for not leaving her alone.

"Thank you... Kano."


	11. Chapter 10

"You've gotta be kidding me," Kido said as Marry finished explaining her predicament to the whole group, and Marry shook her head, her face crestfallen. After a moment of silence- an awkward one at that- Kido started to speak again, unsure of how to go about the whole ordeal. "So you mean to tell us that there's a guy chasing you," she started, "and he wants to kill us all and bring you back to your kingdom?"

Marry nodded in confirmation, although she wasn't sure that Kuroha  _actually_  wanted to kill them- it was just something she had assumed.

Rubbing her temples, Kido fixed a stern glare onto Marry, who flinched back and looked down, fiddling with her thumbs. After a moment, Kido sighed, rubbing her temples in an aggravated motion. This was quite the situation that they were all put in- it definitely wasn't the most ideal one. It had only been a month since they had known Marry, but in that short time Kido and the others had grown close to her. She was like a sister to them, and if there is one thing Kido valued more than anything, it was family. Her older sister taught her that, at least.

Bowing down, Marry gripped the hem of her blue dress, her pink eyes lowered in shame that she hadn't trusted her friends sooner. "I'm really sorry for not telling you all! I didn't want to worry you guys!" she exclaimed, her eyes tearing up again. Despite Kano's kind words last night, she was afraid that she had disappointed them, or even worse, that they would abandon her. After all, the risk of helping her was great- for them to help her, they would be endangering their own lives, and she wasn't sure how far friendship went in the human world. However, these worries were blown away when she felt gentle hands rub her back, and she looked up in surprise to see none other than Seto, looking at her with gentle gold eyes.

"Marry," he said quietly, smiling softly at her, "it's alright. You're in a tough position- it's not your fault. No matter what, we'll protect you," he reassured her, and Momo nodded vehemently, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, standing up. "The only one at fault here is that nasty snake, and we're going to take him down!" she exclaimed, making Marry smile slightly as Shintaro pulled at her arm to get her to sit down again.

"Quiet down, Momo."

As Momo and Shintaro argued, Marry giggled a bit, looking at everyone before looking over at Seto. He was right- nobody seemed to have second thoughts in protecting her, especially Seto, and a warm fuzzy feeling enveloped her chest as she smiled weakly. Seto smiled back at her, before ruffling her hair slightly.

"See? No reason to worry."

Marry nodded, smiling happily up at Seto. Before she could say anything else, though, Hibiya interjected himself into the conversation, tired of the idle chatter.

"Shouldn't we start talking about what to  _do_?" he asked, and Hiyori nodded, her black pigtails bouncing up and down with her as she smoothed out her pink dress.

"The creep is right. We should probably start making a plan," she agreed, causing Hibiya to cry out indignantly.

"I'm not a creep!"

Ignoring Hibiya's outburst, Kido let out another sigh, leaning back into the couch she was sitting on. "Yeah, we do need to come up with something. You sure that Kuroba is here?"

Marry nodded, stifling a giggle at Kido's mispronunciation. " _Kuroha_ , and yes, I'm sure," she said, before reaching into her apron pocket and withdrawing the wadded piece of paper she had thrown at the wall yesterday. "I found this on my desk. I'm  _sure_  he is here."

Kido took the note from Marry and opened it up, reading the short note, her face turning grim. "Do you know when he'll act?"

Shaking her head, Marry closed her eyes, her lips tugging downwards. "Soon, most likely."

Everybody got quiet for a moment, trying to scrounge up some sort of idea to either ward off Kuroha or get Marry home safely, until Shintaro finally decided to speak up, his voice hesitant.

"I may have an idea..." he said, leaning forward. As if on cue, everybody else leaned forward, keen on hearing his idea, and Shintaro's voice was low as he started to explain his plan, every now and then stopping as somebody else asked a question regarding it. Soon, everybody nodded, the plan being set and everybody being prepared.

Standing up, Kido met the gaze of everyone. "Then we start tomorrow: operation get Marry home!"

* * *

_"Noo... Nooooo!"_

_Falling to her knees on the sand, Marry watched as Kuroha pointed a foreign, black object, his fingers curled around a lever on what seemed to be the handle of the object at Kido, who knelt down next to the corpse of somebody. At first, Marry couldn't tell who it was- the face of it was mangled and bloody, just a pool of blood and clumps of flesh and hair. However, as Marry's eyes raked the corpse, she recognized the all too familiar jacket- it was Kano._

Bang.

_A loud noise rang out through the air, and Marry could only watch in horror as Kido stopped her crying, before looking down to her chest, where blood started to blossom. 3 more loud 'banging' noises and Kido had slumped over, her face pale and her eyes dull and glassy as her chest rose one last time and stopped. No last words, no final scream. She was dead in an instant._

_"You bastard!"_

_Marry's head whipped backwards as she saw Seto running towards them on the beach. This all seemed wrong- for this much discord and the death of her friends to happen in such a place, a place that was supposed to be peaceful and calm._

_"Seto,_ run _!" Marry found herself screaming, tears streaming from her eyes. She didn't want this anymore. She would go with Kuroha, she would! If only it meant that her friends would not die, that they would continue living peacefully. She couldn't stand watching them lie around her, still and lifeless, as Kuroha laughed manically._  
 _Ignoring her command, Seto burst forward, running at Kuroha- it seemed he wanted to punch it, at least that was what Marry assumed as she saw his hand ball up into a fist. However, Kuroha didn't move. Instead he tossed the black object, and as Seto approached, his arm shot forward and his fingers curled around the teenager's neck, quickly lifting him up off the ground as he started to strangle him. Marry watched in horror as Seto's legs kicked, desperately trying to touch the ground as Kuroha squeezed tightly, literally squeezing the life out of the poor boy._

 _A couple seconds later, Kuroha dropped him, Seto's body making a loud_ smack _as it hit the thin layer of water that covered the sand. Marry could tell he was dead by the way he lied still, not a single twitch coming from him._

_"S-S-S... S... Setooooo... Nooo...!"_

_Crying harder, Marry gripped her dress tightly as she closed her eyes and wailed, Kuroha slowly walking towards her in a teasing manner, gradually getting closer to the young girl. However, she was unaware and didn't notice. She continued to let out screams of anguish, her eyes shut tightly as she cried, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Finally, Kuroha knelt down, and her eyes shot open in surprise as a nail raked gently across her cheek, smearing the blood of_ someone _on her face. Falling backwards on her butt, she could only stare at Kuroha in fear, her chest rising up and down rapidly. Striking out her fists, hoping to hit something, Marry opened her mouth to scream- however, it was caught in her throat, and only a squeak came out as Kuroha caught her hands easily with one of his own, grinning widely at her helpless form._

_"For a dream, you're quite scared," he teased, yanking her towards him and causing her to tumble into his chest. He bent down and continued to speak into her ear, his voice holding a bitter edge to it. "However, you've chosen the wrong side. I know where you are now, and I won't let you escape me again, Princess Marry. And when I catch you..." He chuckled, his grip on her tightening and causing her to wince as she tried pushing away from him. "I'll definitely have my fun with you then."_

* * *

Marry woke up with a start, tears streaming down her face. She knew it was a dream, but it seemed so real. Was it a sign to not go through with the plan?  
Glancing at the clock and seeing it was almost 10, Marry quickly got out of bed, shaking her head. He didn't know what they were planning- he expected her to flee towards a large city, away from the coast. That was certainly what  _she_  wanted to do- however, she knew that she would be caught if she continued running, so why not face the problem head on?

Still...

_Knock knock knock._

"Marry, are you up yet?" Momo's voice called out on the other side of the door, as energetic as ever. "We need to start getting ready!"

Marry nodded, before remember that Momo couldn't see her. "Yes, I'm up!"

The door creaked open, and Momo walked in with a pile of clothes, her smile a bit strained. However, when she spoke, she sounded as carefree as ever, trying to mask the sadness she was feeling. "I'll help you pin your hair up and get ready," she said, and Marry nodded, yawning. "Sit down and I'll- hey, are you alright?"

Remembering that she had been crying, Marry nodded quickly and wiped her eyes, looking away in shame. "I-I'm sorry. It was just a nightmare."

Momo sighed, sitting next to Marry and starting to brush out her hair as she spoke softly. "Marry..."

"I'm alright, I swear!"

Momo nodded and continued to brush, separating Marry's hair into multiple pieces before taking out a bunch of pins, starting to pin her hair up to the top of her head. "You don't always have to keep things to yourself, you know. We'll always be here for you."

Marry said nothing to this, causing Momo to sigh again as she continued to pin the hair to the top of the 14-year-old's head. However, she said nothing more on the subject and was soon finished, standing up and giving Marry a wistful smile.

"Well, come to the living room when you're finished getting dressed," she told Marry before leaving the room, and Marry could only nod numbly as she changed into the clothes that Momo had brought for her- Kido's clothes.

As Marry walked into the living room, she could already tell there was a problem with the plan.

"Why do  _I_ have to wear this dress?! It's too outlandish! Make Momo wear it!" Kido cried out as Marry walked in. The green-haired girl was dress in Marry's blue dress, completed with the apron.

"Momo's chest is too big!" Kano sang, twirling around. "However, Kido and Marry both have pancake chests, so it'll be-!"

_Smack!_

Kano twitched on the ground as Kido glared menacingly at him, her hand raised in the air as if to hit him again. "Kano... if you don't shut up, I'll kill you before Kuroha or anybody else gets the chance."

Giggling, Marry smiled at the others. It was nice, everybody carefree before they embarked on a dangerous plan. Is was quite refreshing.

"Guys, that's enough. We gotta go now," Takane said, rubbing her temples at the two's antics. Shintaro nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it's time we leave. He'll most likely be here soon," he told them. Everybody got quiet, before the rest agreed that they did, indeed, need to put the plan into motion.

Pulling the hood up over her hair, Marry looked at her reflection in the window, noticing that the hood hid her hair completely. From behind, you wouldn't be able to tell it's her at all. It was the opposite for Kido, because her hair was shorter and green, but with where Kido was going, the appearance didn't matter.

Only her scent did.

Realizing everybody was looking at her, Marry turned towards them and cleared her throat, her pink eyes large and uncertain. In truth, she didn't  _want_  to leave. She was too afraid of the possible outcome, too afraid that they were going to fail. However, her voice caught in her throat, and she was unable to voice her fears. Instead, she cleared her throat again and gave everybody a shaky smile, uttering two words that would ultimately seal her fate.

"Let's go."


	12. Chapter 11

"Oh, I'm gonna miss youuuu!" Momo cried out suddenly, wrapping her arms around Marry as she squeezed her, before picking her up and spinning around with her a couple times.

"A-ah, Momo! Please set me down!"

Complying with the mermaid, Momo gave Marry a sheepish grin and let her go, taking a step back. "Sorry! I kinda lost control for a minute there!" she apologized, causing Marry to giggle a bit at the orange-haired girl's antics. However, Momo's carefree grin was soon replaced, and Marry recognized the glimmer of tears that had started to appear.

"Momo-"

Interrupting Marry, Momo quickly put her hands on her shoulders, her face serious. "Promise, when everything is settled, that you'll come and visit, 'kay?" she quickly said, and Marry nodded, not bothering to admit that she didn't know if things would be settled. There were a lot of loose ends to the whole plan. Marry was hoping to get back to the kingdom and set her grandmother free and set things right before Kuroha got back- if she could make it in time. If Kuroha were to catch her or make it back before her though, Marry doubted that she would even survive, let alone be able to come back and visit. Even if things worked out smoothly, how would Marry be able to come back and visit? It might take years- they might be gone by the time the kingdom is in order again.

However, instead of voicing these thoughts, Marry replied with a simple, "I promise,", before giving Momo one quick hug. After that, everybody else got their hugs in, and the rest of the group exchanged goodbyes, trying to leave on a positive note.

"Do you know how long it'll take for you to save your country- er, kingdom?" Kido asked, and Marry shook her head, frowning slightly.

"Months, maybe years. I don't know. There's a lot that needs to be changed," she replied, and Kido only nodded, before looking at Shintaro, Takane, and Seto.

"Stick with the plan," the 16-year-old started, "and text us if anything happens. We'll get a hold of you when- if- we run into Kureha," she said, and Marry stifled a laugh at Kido's mispronunciation of Kuroha's name again. However, she didn't correct it, and instead gave everybody a closed eyed smile.

Walking outside with everybody else, Marry turned towards the group, bowing slightly in gratitude. "Thank you all! We'll meet again," she said, and everybody agreed, exchanging sad smiles with the young girl. However, Marry took no notice of it, and with one more wave, she made sure her hair was tucked snugly into the hood and started to walk away with Shintaro, Takane, and Seto in tow.

As they walked further away and towards the beach, the four of them started to discuss the plan again, double-checking to see if they had remembered everything.

"Kido, Kano, and Momo are heading away from the ocean to hopefully draw Kuroha towards them, since Kido is wearing Marry's dress, and therefore smells like Marry," Shintaro started, and everybody else nodded, listening to him, "and Haruka, Hibiya, and Hiyori are staying at the house, just in case something happens."

Takane adjusted the headphones around her neck and sighed, shoving her hands into her pockets. "That is correct."

"Once we get to the ocean, Marry, you must get in. You can't hesitate, because he could be here any moment," Shintaro continued, and Marry nodded, sighing as well. "Just in case something happens- do you have the package I gave you for the contingency?"

Marry didn't know what a contingency was- she was sure that Shintaro had mentioned it being a back-up plan, but she wasn't paying attention. However, she knew what he was talking about concerning the package, and she reached her hand into pockets of Kido's jacket, her fingers brushing against a smooth, thin surface.

"Yes, I have it."

As they continued down to the beach and Shintaro continued to talk, making sure everybody knew what exactly they had to do in the case of an emergency, Marry closed her eyes, the scent of the ocean filling her nostrils and calming her. However, lying under that wave of calmness was something else, something she couldn't exactly place, and it unnerved her. Was the ocean trying to tell her something?

Resting a hand on her shoulder, Seto looked down at Marry in concern as he watched her close her eyes and exhale shakily. Was she scared? "Marry, are you alright?"

Looking up at him, Marry nodded once, before averting her pink eyes to the distant outline of the ocean which got larger and larger with each step they took. "Yes," she said, keeping her eyes on the ocean as she frowned slightly. "I'm nervous, though. I don't want you guys to be hurt because of me..."

"Marry, look at me."

Jerking her eyes back towards him at his serious tone, Marry looked up at Seto, his eyes warm and calming. She didn't say anything, she only stopped walking as Seto placed his hands on her arms, crouching down slightly so they were at eye level. "Marry, if we get hurt, it won't be because of you," he told her gently, and Shintaro and Takane stopped walking as well, only looking back as Seto chastised Marry softly. "It's not your fault that this happened- you didn't ask for this. None of us will get hurt, okay?"

After a moment of silence, Marry nodded, her eyes tearing up slightly, and quickly she wiped at her eyes, not wanting to cry yet again.

"He's right. Everything is going according to plan," Takane reassured Marry, holding up her phone. "Momo texted me. They've already reached the spot where they are supposed to attract Kuroha to," she said, and Shintaro let out an indignant cry.

"She's my sister, why didn't she text me?"

Ignoring Shintaro's cry of frustrating, Seto and Marry nodded, both of them showing signs of relief on their faces. "Let's go, then," Seto said, taking Marry's hand and pulling her along gently as they all started towards the beach again.

Using her free hand to search the pockets of Kido's jacket once again, as the four of them walked on the soft sand and towards the ocean, Marry drew out four small beads, shiny and white, and she stared at them intensely for a moment.

No, not beads. They were pearls.

"Takane..."

Reaching over and tugging Takane's sleeve to gain her attention, Marry took the 19-year-old's hand and enclosed the pearls in them, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. "The ocean left these to me when we were on our vacation," Marry started, her voice low as to not attract the attention of Seto and Shintaro. "In case something happens, use these. If you eat one pearl, it will allow you to breathe underwater. The time is unlimited- however, once you take a breath of oxygen, it'll wear off, so you'll have to swallow it underwater," she explained.

Confused, Takane put the pearls into her pocket, only to ask the young mermaid, "Why me?"

Marry glanced over at Seto and Shintaro as they talked, before looking back at Takane, lowering her gaze to the ground. "You're the oldest, right? And... I trust you with these. Only use these in an emergency though," she said, and Takane nodded, not even having time as Marry walked away and towards the ocean. The albino took the slightly large converse off, enjoying the squishy sand beneath her feet as she walked closer to the water, crouching down to put her hand in it as they all idly chatted, waiting to receive a text saying that Kuroha was spotted. Marry had already described his physical description to them- he stood out even in the merworld, so she doubted they would have a problem spotting them. However, he should have caught up to them by now, so where was the message?

"Takane, any texts yet?"

Takane shook her head at Shintaro, who only sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, checking the time on his watch as they waited some more. "We might have to go with our back-up," he said after a few moments. "Get into Takane's car and drive to the next port town."

Marry shook her head, placing her palm flat on the sand as the cool water brushed over it. "We should wait some more..."

Seto gave Marry a concerned look and walked over towards her. "Is everything alright? You seem in a daze."

Shaking her head to clear her mind of any second thoughts, Marry nodded, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Yeah. It's just... the water feels so chaotic. It's never felt this bad before..." she explained, before murmuring under her breath, "Just what is going on down there..?"

Squinting her eyes shut, Marry became aware that everybody else had stopped talking as she concentrated on the water. She was certain the ocean was trying to tell her something, but it seemed to murky for her to actually understand.

"Ah!"

Standing up quickly as the warning became crystalline, Marry looked at the others in alarm, her eyes wide in fear as she felt an overwhelming presence nearby, one that she had known for years.

"Marry, what's wrong?" Takane asked, taking a step forward in concern, but Marry shook her head, taking a step away from everybody. For a moment, she couldn't speak- she only had a sense of overwhelming fear weighing down on her, causing her to want to curl up under a rock and cry. Her mouth felt like dry cotton, and when she tried swallowing her throat made a dry clicking noise. She couldn't even speak.

"Marry?"

Seto, too, took a step towards her, and finally Marry broke out of her reverie, gasping as she found the nerve to speak again. "He's nearby!" She told them, her hand subconsciously grabbing the small packet in her jacket pocket as her eyes darted around frantically. "Kuroha, he- he must have seen through the plan! He'll be here any minute!"

Being the first to take action, Shintaro started to speak, trying to stay calm in the situation. "We all have to go to Takane's car right now the-"

"No."

Everybody turned to face Seto, who's fists were clenched tightly. However, he wasn't angry- far from it. Worry was written all over his face as he glanced first at Marry, then at Shintaro and Takane. "Something went wrong on Kido's end- you two go meet up with them and see if they are okay. No matter where we go, Kuroha will follow us. I'll distract him while Marry goes back into the ocean," he hastily explained, and for a moment, it looked like Shintaro wanted to argue- however, he knew that didn't have the time, and instead he grabbed Takane's wrist, leading her away and not even bothering one last goodbye.

"We'll send you a text when we catch up with them!" Takane managed to shout out before her and Shintaro left the beach and disappeared. Now it was only Seto and Marry, and Marry knew she had to leave, but she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to leave Seto at the mercy of Kuroha.

"Seto-!"

"No," he said quietly, pushing her gently towards the ocean. "I'll be fine. You have to get back to your kingdom, though. Are you sure you know how to turn back into a mermaid?"

Marry nodded but resisted against him. "Yes, I remember. I can't leave you with... with him though!" she exclaimed, and Seto sighed, stopping his efforts and giving Marry a quick hug and a peck on the forehead. Crouching down to her level once again, Seto gave her a soft smile, succeeding in calming her down.

"I'll be fine," he reiterated, pressing his lips to her forehead once again and wiping her tears away gently with his thumbs. She stared at him for a moment before deciding that he was telling the truth, and she threw her arms around him, burying her face into his neck.

"I'll miss you," Marry whispered, and Seto sighed, hugging her too, for a moment, before gently prying her off of him.

Standing up, he helped Marry up as well and ruffled her hair slightly, the smile never leaving his face. "I'll miss you too, Marry. Now go back home. We'll meet again soon, I promise."

Nodding, Marry smiled at him and replied, "It's a promise," before turning towards the ocean and preparing for her departure. However, before she could even take one step, she heard footsteps behind them and froze, the air growing thick with tension. On instinct, Marry felt a shiver crawl up her spine, and she slowly turned around, hoping it was just her paranoia, that there was nothing else there.

"Now where do you think you are going?"

Pink meeting a vivid yellow, Marry couldn't help but stare in shock as she stared at the all-too-familiar figure that leered at the both of them, dressed in all black and grey. The person only grinned manically at Marry's reaction, and she found that she could only take a step backwards, her foot sinking into the wet sand as his name escaped her lips in a soft whisper.

"Kuroha."


	13. Chapter 12

"Kuroha."

As soon as the name escaped from her lips, Marry's vision was blocked from him. Seto, sensing the threat, immediately stood in front of Marry, a scowl on his face as he glared at Kuroha, weary of what could possibly happen. He was right in sending Takane and Shintaro away- if anything were to happen, he'd be glad that he was the only one to get hurt. However, his first priority was distracting Kuroha long enough for Marry to escape.

"Marry,  _go_ ," Seto muttered urgently, but Marry stood in fear, her eyes wide and doe-like as she stared at her former betrothed in fear. If it weren't for Kuroha looking at the two so menacingly, then Seto would have shoved her (gently, of course, for he wouldn't want to hurt her) towards the ocean, but he feared that if he turned his back to Kuroha, that he would be dead within seconds.

When Marry didn't respond, Seto averted his attention solely to Kuroha, hoping that she would get the drift soon enough. "How did you know we were here?" He asked, and Kuroha laughed, grinning insanely at the two as he took another step towards them. Seto tensed, his eyes flickering towards the dark gray object that Kuroha was holding. Peeking around Seto, Marry herself didn't recognize it, but Seto did and he tensed up even more, causing Marry to feel nervous.

"Your plan was clever," Kuroha said lazily, stopping 10 feet from them, "but once I realized you were not with the others, I disposed of them and came here right away."

Gritting his teeth, Seto bit back the words that rose in his throat- he didn't want to provoke Kuroha, but he knew that losing his head wouldn't help their situation. Instead, he asked through gritted teeth, "What do you mean, 'disposed' of them?"

Not answering, Kuroha let out another harsh laugh, his eyes glittering like he won the lottery. He was enjoying this- seeing Seto at war with himself and the worry on his face, seeing his beloved Marry there, frozen with fear but shaking like a leaf.

Not liking the laugh, Seto attempted to shove Marry back behind him. "Marry, you need to go  _now_. I'll distract him while you escape."

Marry didn't respond and kept her eyes on Kuroha as if she was in a trance, too afraid to move her gaze elsewhere in fear that he would kill her.

Snorting, Kuroha pointed the object at Seto, amusement dancing in his eyes. "What, do you really think you can hold up against a gun?"

Seto said nothing, and Marry, recognizing the 'gun' from her dreams, finally snapped out of whatever daze she was in and tried to glare at Kuroha as she stepped out from behind Seto. However, once Kuroha's eyes landed on her, her glare faltered and she was sure that she looked more terrified than anything by the way Kuroha snorted.

Finally back to herself, Marry found herself shouting, "J-just leave us a-alone!" in a shaky voice, causing Kuroha to laugh again, the gun still trained on Seto.

"Why? I'm having fun."

For a moment, Marry felt fear start to choke her again. She was scared, so scared. She was scared that he would drag her back to the kingdom, and she was even more scared that he would kill Seto to do it. Even if it wasn't needed, he'd probably kill Seto just to make a point to Marry, or as he said, for  _fun_.

Pushing back her fear, Marry tried to put on a brave front, knowing that if she gave up now, then her fears would come true. "I-I won't be going back with you."  
Stammering out that simple phrase, Marry almost took it back as the amusement finally left Kuroha's face and his smile dropped. Anger kindled in his eyes, and she couldn't help but shiver again, regretting what she had said.

However, that scowl was quickly replaced with a cocky smirk again, and Kuroha lowered the arm holding the gun, surprising both Marry and Seto.

"How about we make a  _deal_ , Princess Marry," he said, and Marry eyed him wearily, staying silent for him to continue. "If you come back to the kingdom with me  _willingly_ , I will spare this pathetic human."

Seto opened his mouth, ready to protest angrily- Marry had other plans, however, and instead started to walk past Seto and towards Kuroha slowly, shaking slightly.

"Marry!"

Looking back at Seto, Marry gave him a shaky smile, unable to hide the amount of distress she was feeling. "I'll be alright," she told him before turning back towards Kuroha. Once she was within arm's reach, Kuroha pulled her close to him and wrapped an arm around her waist, his smirk growing wider as he pointed the gun at Seto again.

"You're so naive, Princess Marry," he cackled, "although since you came to me willingly, you'll get a reward later."

Wincing in disgust, Marry reached into her pocket and withdrew the packet Shintaro had given her earlier. Finally working up the courage, Marry opened the packet and flung the contents at his face, letting out a hiss of pain as some of it came intact with her hand and arm.

Screaming, Kuroha dropped the gun and stumbled back, holding his face as the silver powder ate away at his skin and blinded him. He attempted to grab Marry again with one hand while holding his face with the other, but she stepped back quickly and he grabbed nothing but air, unable to sense where she was due to the pain.

"You bitch!" he managed to screech, attempting once again to grab her- however, she stepped out of reach in time.

"I'll never go with you," she finally hissed at him, and Seto, quick to act, grabbed her arm and began to run down the beach with her in tow, both of them looking back once to see Kuroha clutching his face in pain.

As Marry tried to keep up with Seto, he gave her a side glance, assessing the injuries on her arm. Her skin had turned red from where the powder came intact, and it looked like minor burns, save for her knuckles, which had blistered a bit, indicating a second degree burn. That was the worst of it, though, and Seto was grateful that Marry hadn't gotten hurt as bad as Kuroha had been. He was curious, though- what exactly  _was_  that?

"Did you plan that?" Seto found himself asking, and Marry hesitated before nodding her head, panting from the running. He stopped, causing Marry to stop too, and he crouched down. "Here, I'll carry you."

Marry climbed onto his back and Seto hooked his arms around her legs as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "It was part of Shintaro's emergency plan," she explained after a moment, burying her face into the back of his neck. "Yesterday he asked me if it was true that silver powder was a weakness to mermaids. I told him it burned us, and this morning he gave me a small packet of it."

Seto sighed, still running as the soft sand was replaced with dirt. The only place he could think of that was a good place to hide while he tried contacting the others was an area that was recently being developed. However, due to lack of resources and funding, the construction had been held off, so a lot of the buildings weren't finished. He quickly ran into one of the buildings that weren't finished and set Marry down, collapsing down beside her and leaning against the unfinished brick wall, panting slightly. He reached an arm over and weakly ruffled her hair, giving her a small smile.

"That was very brave of you," he told her, and Marry gave him a tired smile in return, sitting next to him. As she watched him send a text to somebody (she didn't have time to read the recipients before he locked his phone), she subconsciously rubbed her right arm, looking down at it and wincing. It was pink, and her knuckles had blisters on them- that part was the most painful.

 _Only a little bit got on me and it hurts horribly... It must be ten times worse for Kuroha. I threw enough at him to permanently blind him and give him third degree burns,_  she thought, frowning. He was  _not_  going to be happy once he recovered from the surprise attack, and she did not have any more silver powder to surprise him with.

"He'll be here soon," Marry murmured after a moment, and Seto gave her a surprised look. He saw how bad the burns on Kuroha were himself- he didn't think that he would be recovering anytime soon. Seeing the look of confusion on Seto's face, Marry sighed, a frown tugging at her lips. "He was near the ocean. All he has to do is get in the water and he'll be healed. Same with my arm."

"Ah, I... see," he said, before feeling his phone vibrate. He quickly pulled it out to read the message, and he let out a sigh in relief.

"What is it?"

Smiling at her, Seto showed her the message. "Takane reached Kido's group. They're all fine and never ran into Kuroha. He lied about hurting them," he explained, and Marry smiled happily as well, her anxiety finally calming a bit. Despite the news, though, her stomach started to twist and her face paled, the good news wearing off fast. She didn't even need to say anything for Seto to understand what was wrong, and his smile disappeared too.

"Marry," he said, "you need to go find Takane and the others."

Instantly Marry started to shake her head, her hair starting to come out of the pins that Momo carefully placed that morning. Opening her mouth to protest, Seto put his finger to her lips, his eyes kind. Seeing that look, Marry got quiet again, and Seto removed his finger. Making up his mind, he kissed her softly on the lips, pulling back and resting his forehead on hers as her cheeks turned pink.

"I'll be fine, alright? I just need to rest some more. Now please run to Kido's group, I'll be there shortly," he whispered, and finally Marry nodded, noting the sad look in his eyes. He didn't even seem to believe himself, but Marry believed in him. If he said he would be alright, then he would be alright!

Kissing him on the cheek quickly, Marry stood up and mustered up the best smile she could. "I'll see you soon," she said, and Seto nodded, returning the smile.

"It's a promise."

Turning around, she started to run, not looking back once as she left the compound area and felt Kuroha's presence fade from her stomach. Once she couldn't feel his presence anymore, she slowed down to a walk and glanced back, worry replacing the anxiety. Was Seto alright? Should she have really left him behind? Questions like that raced through her mind. After all, even she knew that Seto was no match up against Kuroha. Be that as it may, Marry had trust in him and felt that he would be fine. He may not be as strong as Kuroha, but Seto was still stronger than the average human, and she knew he would be smart enough to avoid Kuroha anyways.

 _Maybe I should wait here for him to catch up_ , Marry thought and sat down at the base of a nearby tree, facing towards the compound as she waited for Seto. She still couldn't feel Kuroha's presence, so maybe he went away. She could at least hope. Along with the absence of Kuroha's presence, though, Marry had not yet caught sight of Seto, and she started to worry again. Did something happen? Where was Seto? Inspecting her arm, Marry tried to distract herself by poking the pink areas of her hand and arm, watching them blanch and feeling the slight sting.

_Is he alright?_

Standing up, Marry brushed any dirt on the green jeans off and started to debate on going back to the compound or not. On one hand, Seto had told her to leave and she didn't want to run back into Kuroha (especially not after she pulled that stunt on the beach), but she also knew that it wasn't right to leave Seto all alone back there, especially since Kuroha wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

"Ah... what should I do...?"

Before she could think about it further, she heard a loud  _bang_  and a strangled yell coming from the compound, and without thinking twice, she started to run back, faster than she thought was possible for an out-of-shape person like her. All thoughts of following Seto's instructions were lost. She couldn't bear to lose him, she couldn't bare for him to get hurt! If him dying or getting hurt meant her living, she would sacrifice herself immediately for the sake of him. She didn't understand exactly why, except for the fact that Seto was somebody she held closely to her heart. She didn't even acknowledge her other fears, for they were trivial compared to Seto's safety. The thought of losing him scared her the most, and this made her run even faster, entering the compound as she ran towards the place where her and Seto had been resting.

_Please, god... don't take Seto away from me!_


	14. Chapter 13

"Seto!"

Crying out the boy's name, Marry soon arrived at the place where she had left Seto, panting softly at the amount of exercise she had just done in the short amount of time it took to get there.

Looking over where the two had been resting, Marry was relieved to see that Seto was still there and alive, although that relief was short-lived. He was holding his leg in pain, like he had been hurt, and when Marry cried out his name, he had looked up in surprise and... fear?

Taking a step towards him slowly, so as to not scare him, Marry looked at him in concern. "Seto, you're hurt! What-"

Cutting her off, Seto yelled, "It's a trap, Marry! Quickly, run away!"

Pink eyes widening, for a moment Marry looked around wildly. However, nobody was there, and she couldn't feel Kuroha's presence. Nonetheless, there was no mistaking that Seto's injured leg was the work of Kuroha- but where  _was_  he?

"He's not here, it's... al... right..."

Trailing off, Marry's eyes widened as she heard footsteps behind her, and she froze in fear. It couldn't be Kuroha though, right? She couldn't feel his presence, so it wasn't possible that it was him! The low chuckle behind her said otherwise though, and Marry started forward, her only focus to somehow get her and Seto out of the situation. In spite of that, she was a moment too late, and she felt an arm wrap around her neck harshly as something hard knocked against her head- a moment later Marry realized that it was Kuroha's gun, pointing right at her as he kept her in a headlock.

Freezing up, Marry felt as if she couldn't breathe. Was this the end? In her dreams, she had seen what a gun could do. If Kuroha pulled that little lever- the trigger?- she would be dead in an instant. She was sure that Seto would follow her death, too, along with the rest of her friends. It all drew back to the gun. Her life was literally in Kuroha's hands. The only thing that bothered her was the fact that Kuroha hadn't pulled the trigger yet. What was he waiting for? Was he going to go on yet  _another_  spiel about how she chose the wrong side? Was he even going to  _kill_  her, or was this just so he could knock her out and drag her back to the kingdom?  
Interrupting her thoughts, Seto started to shout profanities at Kuroha, still clutching his leg in pain. "Let her go, you bastard! Leave her alone!"

Losing his amusement, Kuroha gave Seto a bored look and pointed the gun at him instead, his eyes piercing the 17-year-old. "Shut up before I finish you off, you pathetic worm," he hissed, before turning his attention back to a scared Marry, who was looking at Seto with pleading eyes. That's when it hit Kuroha, and he grinned again, quickly working to mask the anger he was feeling at the new revelation.

Marry had feelings for Seto.

"You know," Kuroha started lazily, his arm tightening around Marry's throat and causing her nails to sink into his arms, although it didn't phase him. "You could have had it all. You would have been able to rule the kingdom by my side if you joined me from the beginning. I even gave you a second chance back on the beach, before you decided to throw silver powder in my  _face_ ," he said, the alst word coming out as a hiss that made Marry shiver in fear. "But you're not getting anymore chances. This time, you're not getting away, and neither is your pitiable human boyfriend. Once he's dead, I'll take you back to the kingdom, where you will rot in prison with your wretched grandmother before being executed."

Marry dug her fingers deeper into Kuroha's arm, her nails tearing into his skin as tears pricked her eyes. Was this how it was going to end? Seto dead, and her and her grandmother being beheaded?

Humming, Kuroha seemed to think over something, before chuckling again. "But seeing as how I'm a merciful being," Kuroha said as Marry choked back a bitter laugh, "I'll give you one more chance- will you cooperate and come back to the kingdom with me willingly?"

Marry locked eyes with Seto, who was staring at them hopelessly. She could tell that he wanted to get her out of Kuroha's grip, that he wanted nothing more than to beat Kuroha down, but given his leg injury, she knew that was impossible. It was up to her to stand up to Kuroha once again, and she did not have the courage that she had had back on the beach. Her mouth was dry as cotton, and she was shaking in fear as Kuroha leered down at her.

_It's not going to end like this._

Swallowing back her tears, Marry gave Kuroha a defiant look (the best she could, given how he had her in a headlock) and said, "No matter what, I will never go with you."

Marry could feel that Kuroha's grin had dropped once again as the atmosphere grew cold, and she held back a shiver as Kuroha's grip loosened.

"I see," Kuroha murmured, his voice cold as he let go of Marry and turned her around so she was facing him. "You mean it, don't you?" he asked her, and she gave a shaky nod, glaring up at him. This caused Kuroha to chuckle once again, although this time it sounded even darker than before as his grip on her shoulder tightened and made her wince.

"I can't believe this. A mere human somehow is better than me?"

Marry tried taking a step away from Kuroha, but his grip grew ever tighter and Marry winced once again, feeling the area where he was gripping start to bruise. Seeing her face, Kuroha cackled and leaned down so his face was in front of hers, causing her to flinch back. "I guess I have no other choice, then," he then said, and Marry's face finally showed the fear she was feeling.

_Just what... is he planning to do?_

"It's that look of fear, though, that I love to see on you the most,  _princess_."

Gripping her chin roughly, Kuroha glanced back at Seto, whose eyes widened, before looking back at Marry and kissing her roughly. Marry, surprised by the sudden change of events and feeling revolted, attempted to push him away, but before she could move Kuroha was already pulling back, a smug look on his face as he looked back at Seto, who had forced himself to stand up despite the ever-growing pain in his leg.

"You.. get away from her  _now_ ," he said, his face darkening, and Kuroha laughed, grabbing Marry's hair and nearly yanking her off her feet. She squealed, her hands quickly going up to grab Kuroha's wrist, but he didn't react- instead, he pointed the gun at Seto, grinning manically.

"It's cute how you think you can fare against me in that condition." Cocking the gun, Kuroha yanked Marry back, causing her to cry out in pain as she stared at Seto, tears in her eyes.

_Seto... no!_

"S...Seto-!"

Unable to finish her sentence, Marry choked back a sob, as Seto leaned against the unfinished brick wall, glaring at Kuroha. His face was blanched, and Marry could tell he was in pain... So why didn't he back down? Did she matter that much to him?

"Why Princess Marry, are you not going to say goodbye to the little worm after all?"

Not even waiting for her to say anything else, Kuroha pulled the trigger and a loud  _bang!_  resounded throughout the air, making Marry flinch and stare at Seto with wide eyes as the bullet entered his lower abdomen. For a moment he stood there, his own eyes also widened in shock, before he slowly collapsed to his knees and leaned back into the wall, his eyes still wide with shock.

"No... NO! Seto,  _Seto!_   _SETO!_ "

Screaming, Marry started to struggle, reaching out an arm to him, but Kuroha yanked her back, finally done playing around with the two.

"He's done for. He'll bleed to death here, and you're coming back to the kingdom with me."

Jerking her around so she was facing him, her feet still barely touching the ground, Kuroha gave her a bone-chilling smirk and leaned forward so he could whisper something in her ear.

"Game over...~"

The last thing Marry saw was the butt of the gun come down towards her head before everything turned black.

* * *

"He isn't answering his phone!"

Biting her lip, Takane looked at the last text that Seto had sent her as Kano tried calling Seto  _again_ , and showing a rare show of genuine worry, she glanced at the others she was with. Kido, Momo, and Kano, all of whom were panicking pretty badly at the lack of answering.

Kido, seeing Takane's worried look, pulled down Marry's dress slightly. "Do you think something happened on their end?"

Takane sighed and nodded, pocketing her phone. "It's possible. We should go check on them ASAP," she said, and for once, everybody agreed. " _I'll_  try calling him one more time," she then said, quickling dialing the number and putting it on speaker, just in case. However, this time the phone only rang two times before it was actually picked up.

"Guys, he answered!"

Despite that, their victory was short lived as a different voice answered them, causing them all to freeze.

" _Ahaha!_ " a voice laughed, and Takane could feel her stomach drop as she furrowed her eyebrows. This voice... " _Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're too late. The worm is dead, and soon the princess will be too~"_

Kano snatched the phone out of Takane's hand, but before he could yell anything, there was a loud crunching sound and the call dropped, leaving them all standing in silence for one moment before Kido uttered two words.

"Let's go."

Once the four had arrived at the compound and searched for any trace of the three, they all found a large amount of blood splattered on the ground and smeared in a trail, seeming like somebody had been butchered and then dragged. Takane could feel bile in the back of her throat, but luckily kept it down.

Following the trail apprehensively, Takane looked back at the others, who were just as pale and sick-looking. None of them seemed to want to go on, but nonetheless they moved forward too, and they all had turned the corner, only to find a figure lying on the ground, blood everywhere.

"Seto!"

They all ran to him, and Takane quickly dialed an ambulance as Momo, Kido, and Kano started to question him. Once she was done giving details, she hung up and joined the others, crouching next to Seto as she examined him. He looked on the brink of death. His face was pallid and both his leg and abdomen area were bleeding quite badly. Judging by all of the blood, she was surprised that he had managed to stay conscious, but even thinking that, he seemed like he was going to pass out any moment.

"I called an ambulance- tell us what happened," Takane demanded.

Momo turned to her, her face nearly translucent now. "H-he said that Kuroha came, shot him twice, then knocked out Marry and took her back to the sea. S-Seto tried to d-d-drag himself after them, but Kuroha was already gone when he made it around the corner," she explained, and Seto nodded weakly, looking defeated.

"I... couldn't... n... save..."

Kido pinched his lips shut. "Quit speaking. You need to save your energy," she told him, but he shook his head, attempting to prop himself up with his elbows. However, he didn't have enough strength and just lied in the gravel, breathing heavily and turning to Takane.

"You have... save... er... please..." he mumbled, his voice hoarse, and Takane frowned. It was most likely that both Kuroha and Marry were already in the sea- how was she supposed to save them when she couldn't breathe underwater herself?

Then it hit her.

 _The pearls Marry gave her_.

Reaching her hand into her jacket pocket, Takane confirmed the pearls were still there before she put on a determined mask, standing up. "Kido, Kano, you two stay here with Seto and answer any questions the police or paramedics might have," she ordered, whipping out her phone and shooting a quick text to Shintaro before turning to Momo. "Momo, you come with me."

Momo nodded shakily and stood up, only having time to wave at the others before Takane grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away. Judging by the direction, Momo could only guess that they were heading to the beach, but why? Momo wasn't the best swimmer herself, and she was positive they couldn't breathe underwater, so what exactly did Takane have planned?

"Takane, what are we doing?" she asked, voicing her thoughts, and Takane started to slow down, her sneakers making soft squelching noises as they started to walk, having arrived at the beach.

For a moment, Takane didn't answer, and Momo watched her in confusion as she stared out at the ocean. "We have two others meeting up with us. I'll explain then."

Moments later, Shintaro had joined them, Hibiya in tow as Takane and Momo stood there. Shintaro cleared his throat, and Takane turned around to face them, her eyes sharp.

Looking from his sister to Takane, Shintaro furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "I got the message about what's going on, but how exactly are we going to save Marry...?" he asked right away, and Takane fished the pearls out from her pocket, holding out her hand in front of everybody before opening it slowly so the four pearls wouldn't fall out of her grip.

"We're going to save Marry with these."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ame here! I need your guys' help-- this story is nearing an end, and it's up to you, my dear readers, to decide which ending to go for! There are three possible endings: The good end, the bad end, and the "true" end. I know it's pitiful for me to ask you guys to help make such an important decision, but I have written out the three endings already and can't decide which. It will be branching off within the next two chapters, so updates will slow until I can choose the correct ending.
> 
> Thank you all very much for supporting this story though, and reading it up until this part! It means so much to me, and I hope you all continue to enjoy World Calling!


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Takane, Shintaro, Momo, and Hibiya decide to take action. Meanwhile, Marry is finally reunited with someone dear.

        Momo, Hibiya, and Shintaro leaned in and stared at the pearls in Takane's hand.  For a moment, everything was silent, until Hibiya finally cleared his throat, a skeptical look on his face as he looked up at Takane.

        "Those are pearls," he pointed out, crossing his arms.  "How will they help us get Marry back?"

        Takane sighed, but knew it was not to be unexpected from the 12-year-old.  Instead, she patiently explained what Marry had told her, receiving more skeptical looks from her three friends.  Momo, taking a pearl and inspecting it, squinted her eyes.

        "How do we know if these are legit?" she asked, glancing back up at Takane, causing the black-haired girl to shrug.  She herself didn't know if they would work, but it was worth a shot, and if it didn't, they were smart enough to swim back to the surface so they wouldn't drown. 

        Hibiya and Shintaro both took pearls as well and Takane slipped her shoes off, wading into the water and shivering.  It seemed colder than usual, and her clothes clung to her as she waded deeper, before looking back at her group.  "Y'all coming?"  she huffed, irritated that they were taking their sweet time.  Sensing her irritation, Momo quickly jumped in, and Shintaro and Hibiya followed right after, the three of them going as far as Takane did.  Looking at them, she gripped onto her pearl tightly, feeling anxious at what was going to happen next- at what  _could_  happen next.  "On the count of three," she finally said, her heart thumping.

        Shintaro nodded, his face grim as he got ready to pop the pearl in his mouth.  "And we  _have_  to swallow these underwater, right?" he asked, and Takane nodded in confirmation.  Shintaro sighed and ran a hand through his hair, glancing back behind him to make sure that nobody was watching.  Last thing they needed was to have somebody call the police because 3 teenagers and a child dived underwater and never came back.

        "One," Momo said, determination written across her face as she readied herself to dive.

        "Two."

        "Three."

       Simultaneously, the quartet dived into the water, popping the pearls into their mouths and making sure to swallow only when fully submerged.  The effect was instantaneous.

       Feeling a weird warmth start to spread from her finger tips, Takane closed her eyes as she felt like something had been placed over her throat, obstructing her voice, as her legs felt pressed together.  It was a weird stinging sensation, as if she had been stung by a swarm of bees, and for a moment she thought she was going to pass out as she clenched her eyes shut.  As the pain passed, though, she opened her eyes back up, taking a deep breath instinctively.  Moments later, she chided herself- she didn't even know if the pearl had worked, and she could have sucked in a gulp of water!  That wasn't the case, though.

        The pearl had worked fine, and as she looked over at the others, she was met with a peculiar sight, and she had to blink a couple times to make sure she wasn't seeing things, for the people swimming underwater weren't human.

        They were mermaids.

        "What the hell?"  Shintaro exclaimed, covering his bare chest.  Weirdly enough, their clothes had disappeared, and Takane looked down, expecting to see them float downwards, but there was nothing but sand below them.  Then it hit her, as she looked down and saw that she was only wearing a bikini top- the same transformation had happened to her, too.

        Momo laughed at her brother's distress, before turning to Takane.  "You didn't mention anything about becoming a mermaid," she said, and Takane frowned, as she hadn't known that this would happen herself!

        "Yeah, Marry left out that little detail," she said through gritted teeth, crossing her arms over her chest subconsciously.  Momo just laughed, swimming in circles a couple times.

        "It's actually really cool though!" she said, looking down at her fins in interest.  "The water seems so clear, and I can swim a lot faster."  She grinned at Takane, before turning back to the two boys who both seemed distressed at their transformation.  "You guys done whining now?"

        Shintaro glared at his sister but said nothing.  Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, like he was focusing on something.  "There's a current coming from that way," he said, pointing deeper into the ocean, "and Marry had said that a current carried her to this beach.  If we follow it, we should be able to get to where she is," he said, and Hibiya scoffed, finding fault in his logic right away.

        "How do we know this is the exact spot that Marry washed up on, though?  It could be a completely different current," he argued, crossing his arms as he continued, "and deep sea currents, which would have been the type that carried her here, don't always stay the same.  Jeez, shouldn't you know at least that?"

        Glaring at Hibiya, Shintaro said, "Do you have any other leads?"

        That shut him up.

        "So, all in favor of following the current?"  Momo asked, quickly breaking the silence.  All four raised their hands, even though Hibiya still looked uncertain of going with Shintaro's plan.  He didn't try to argue against it anymore, though, and Momo started to swim again, following the current and making sure to not get caught in it.

        "Then let's go!"

* * *

  
        Marry groaned as she opened her eyes, a searing pain going through her head.  Her brain was scrambled, and she attempted to recall what had happened and why she was lying on a stone ground.

        "Marry, are you awake?"

        The voice that asked this was gentle and very familiar to Marry, and her head snapped up in shock as she realized who it was.  Staring at her with concerned red eyes, a mermaid with black fins sat with her back against the wall, looking tired and stressed.  She didn't attempt to get closer, and after staring at her for a moment, Marry realized why- her wrists were shackled to the wall, restricting her movements.

        "Grandma... is that you?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse, and she cleared her throat.  The older mermaid definitely looked like she had been through a lot since she had been gone.  Her black hair was frizzy and unbrushed, the red ribbon that usually tied it together gone.  She had bruises and shadows under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept.  Despite all of this, though, she still only looked Marry's age- the result of true immortality. 

        The mermaid nodded once, eyeing Marry up and down.  "Call me Azami.  I haven't acted as a grandma towards you, nor do I look one," she said, her voice, although sharp, still slightly gentle.

        Marry nodded hesitantly, looking down at herself.  She was a mermaid again, and she hurt all over, as if somebody had beat her up.  The burns on her wrist were healed, probably from when she first got into the ocean, but they still felt sore, and she stretched her arms in front of her, pleased to see that she was not chained up like her grandmother.  However, as she looked around, she realized that didn't matter- they were in a tiny cell, most likely in the dungeon of the castle, and Marry started to panic as she finally pieced everything together.

        Her grandmother, being a mermaid, the cell... her memories from before she passed out were still scattered, but if she was here, then that meant...

        "No..."

        Pushing herself upright, the younger girl looked at Azami in alarm, her face paling considerably.  Kuroha had finally won.

        Azami, sensing her granddaughter's stress, watched her with a pitying look on her face.  The queen had long since accepted her fate, but Marry, who had been on the run from it, was finally trapped with her.  It angered her, and she knew her daughter, if she was still alive, would have been upset as well.

        "We have to get out of here," Marry told Azami, her pink eyes wide in fear.  Seto... was he even still alive?  Did Kuroha kill him and the rest of her friends?

        Azami shook her head, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly.  "It's no use.  Kuroha is planning to have us executed by the end of this night," she said, her voice flat, and Marry slumped against the wall, her eyes still wide.

        For a moment it was silent, and Azami took in the look on Marry's face.  She would have rather said nothing, but there was no use keeping it a secret, especially since Kuroha would be there soon to gleefully tell Marry the news himself.

        Shaking her head, Marry stared down at her hands.  She felt like she was going to burst into tears, but her eyes were impossibly dry.  Was this really it?  "I... I have friends who need my help though," she said weakly, after a moment, and Azami sighed, patting the space next to her the best she could.

        "Child, come here," she said, and Marry swam over after a moment, sitting next to her grandmother as Azami started to speak again.  "Kuroha... he'll be here soon. I have a plan, but you have to trust me," she murmured, closing her eyes.  It was a lie- the queen didn't have a plan, not yet, but she figured that Marry would have one chance to escape while Azami distracted everybody, and that was good enough for her.  "For now, though, tell me everything that has happened since you left.  About the human world."

        Marry rubbed her eyes and nodded, a small smile on her lips finally as she looked back down at her hands, explaining how she met Seto and the others, the trips to the market she made, their vacation, and everything else she could think of, and for a small moment in time, she was able to at least forget what was to come.


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when everybody gets ready for Operation Save Marry, Kuroha decides to have a change of plans.

        Marry leaned against the wall, closing her eyes tiredly as she finished her long story.  Beside her, Azami hummed thoughtfully.

        "I... see.  This human, Seto... were you truly in love with him?" she asked her granddaughter, looking down at the pink-eyed mermaid.  The story reminded her, almost, of her own.  When she had first met Tsukihiko, her former husband, he was just a human, and she didn't think they would ever be together (in fact, she _detested_  humans at first), but in the end they made it work.  All had went fine until Tsukihiko died unexpectedly one day, and only now did Azami realize it was Kuroha's doing, her very own creation having turned against her.

         _This was all her fault, and she knew it._

        Marry nodded, looking away from Azami shamefully.  "I-I think so," she whispered, and Azami sighed, petting the girls hair.  What a predicament they were in, and her old plan wouldn't work with Marry here, it was too dangerous.  Marry had said she gave pearls to one of her friends, but who was to say that her friends would come save her?  It was sad, but true.  Besides Tsukihiko, humans were vile creatures that only did things for themselves.  Charitable?  Hah, yeah right.

        Despite her feelings towards humans, she knew she couldn't let Marry leave this boy, Seto, to die.

        "Marry," she murmured, putting a finger under the mermaid's chin and tilting her head up.  "When Kuroha comes to take us to execution and unchains me, you need to escape," she told her, her red eyes unreadable.  She knew she wouldn't survive, but she had one more trick up her sleeve, and she'd be damned if Kuroha didn't go down with them.  She never thought she would make it out, so she had her own plan from the start.  With Marry here, she had to change things so she would survive, and that meant getting Marry out of the kingdom again, at least for a short time.  If Kuroha didn't kill Azami on the spot for distracting him and letting his 'precious princess' escape, only then would she be able to carry out her plan and hopefully save the kingdom.

        Marry watched the queen in confusion, frowning.  "What about you?" she asked, her voice small, and Azami shook her head, smiling ruefully.

        "Don't you worry about me," she said, looking down at the chains that limited her arm movements.  "I will distract him.  You're the future ruler of this kingdom, though, and therefore you must be kept safe."

        Azami knew that the same could be said with her actually being the queen of their kingdom, but she knew Marry wouldn't think that.  She'd think of a way to get them both out of this mess, which was impossible.

        "But gran- Azami--"

        Azami cut her off with a sharp look.  "Don't argue with me.  This will be your only chance, do you understand?" she asked, but before Marry could answer, the door creaked open and both girls snapped their heads to see who the visitor was.  Neither was surprised that it was Kuroha.  Neither also had expected his next words.

       "The date of the execution as been pushed a bit farther into the future," he said, sneering down at the two, surprisingly calm.  Earlier, he had wanted to kill them both as soon as possible, but now, there was something off, something more sinister that made even Azami shiver slightly.  Something was not right.  He had changed his plans, and Azami narrowed her eyes at the snake-like merman.

        "What, are you starting to have second thoughts?" Azami snapped, her voice colder than ice.  "Did you grow a conscious, Kuroha?  Why don't you just get it over with and stop playing us around like fools."

        She needed him to unchain her.  That's all she needed, then she could help Marry get free.  Why was the execution moved back?  Why was he without his usual entourage of guards?   _Why was he so smug?_

        Kuroha snorted and calmly swam over to the two, yanking Marry up easily by the arm.  "Please, you know I could kill you whenever I want," he said, the amusement quickly leaving his face as he stared coldly down at his former queen.  "There's been a change of plans, Azami.  Marry's coming with me."

* * *

  
       "So you were right."

        Staring at a kingdom that seemed to be clouded in darkness, Momo turned to her brother, hiding her hands behind her back.  "Ya know, I thought we were going to end up lost or something," she admitted, grinning at the former-NEET before her smile died down a bit.  Turning back, though, the grin started to disappear.

        Hibiya shook his head, crossing his arms, a scowl on his face.  "How do we even know this is the right kindgom?" he asked skeptically, and the other three looked at him like  _he_  was the stupid one.

        If Momo had been told a few months ago that she would be a mermaid and would be saving her friend who was a princess of an underwater kingdom, she would have laughed and said "yeah right!".  Mermaids only existed in fairytales, at least that was what she had thought.  Ever since Marry had come into their lives, though, Momo started to believe in the supernatural more.  If mermaids were real, couldn't the same be said for vampires, fairies, and the like?  It was so cool!

        However, this situation was not.

        In an earlier conversation she once had with Marry, the small, pink-eyed girl had described her kingdom so proudly.  She said it was a bright, lively kingdom, where everybody was happy.  Although small, it was flourishing, and everybody had supported her family's reign.

        This kingdom was nothing like the one that Marry had described.  Even though they were on the outskirts, Momo got a bad vibe, and as far as she could tell, not a single soul was in sight, be it fish or merperson.  It was like a ghost town, and even the sea around it seemed darker, gloomier.  The water seemed chilly, and she could have  _sworn_  that she saw some sharks nearby.  Was this what happened from Kuroha's rule?  Was this all his fault?

        "Talk about creepy."  Shaking her head, the 16-year-old turned to the others, who seemed to be talking quietly among themselves, and she swam over, her face unnaturally serious.  This wasn't the time to ruminate on past conversations, especially not with her friend's life on the line.

        "Momo, did you hear anything we said?" Shintaro asked scornfully, and Momo shook her head, not bothering to lie or come up with a reason.  She simply had spaced out in her own thoughts- what else was there to say?

        Sighing and giving her a withering look, Shintaro started to speak, and Momo couldn't help but notice he had that exasperated tone he always took on when he had to repeat himself.

        "I can't believe you're even hear with us," he grouched, before giving her the instructions.  "This kingdom is big, but we assume that Marry's in the castle.  Kuroha's also probably there, though," he said, a small scowl on his face.  "You and Hibiya have to get into the castle and find Marry.  Takane and I are going to hopefully draw Kuroha and the guards away from the castle, that way when you find her, you guys can escape without too much trouble," he said, his voice serious and leaving no room for argument.  However, Momo found a flaw in the plan right away and frowned, shaking her head.

        "The kingdom is too big!  How are we going to let you know that we've found Marry?" she asked, and for a moment Shintaro and Takane exchanged an unreadable glance before looking back at Momo and Hibiya.  

       Sighing, Shintaro ran a hand through his head, a look of irritation on his face.  "We'll leave sooner or later.  Just focus on getting Marry out, okay?" he asked, but his voice had an odd tone to it, as if he was not telling her something.  She couldn't figure it out, though, and promptly dropped it as her mind focused on the task she was given.

        She couldn't lie- she was scared of what was to come, and didn't think that she could actually pull this off.  She knew she wasn't the smartest, and doubted that Hibiya would be much help if they got into too much trouble.  However, their choices were limited...

        Hugging her brother quickly, and then Takane, Momo nodded, forcing a happy grin on her face.  They would all be alright.  They would all make it out alive and bring Marry back safe and sound, and when they got back, Seto would be in a stable condition.  There was no other possible future.  Only a happy one.

        So why did she feel so uneasy?

        Pushing back the unease, she pumped her fist, a determined look replacing her forced grin.  "Alright!  Let's get this show on the road!" she cheered, and after they all exchanged some more last minute details, they separated, Shintaro and Takane following the perimeter of the kingdom and Hibiya and Momo going straight in.

        Inside the kingdom, it was as desolate as it looked on the outside.  Nobody was on the paved streets, except for a few guards that Momo and Hibiya had easily been able to hide from.  The shutters on the homes and shops were closed, and nobody had dared to peak out.  Was it really that bad, or was there just a curfew that the two didn't know about?  It made it easier though, as they didn't have to worry about getting lost in a crowd or somebody thinking they were unusual (after all, their scale colors were unusually vibrant, Momo a neon orange and Hibiya a bright cyan).

        Feeling herself get nudged, Momo looked down at Hibiya, who's light brown eyes were focused on something.  "The castle gates are guarded.  How are we going to sneak in?"  he asked, and Momo peaked around the corner, feeling at a loss.  How was  _she_  supposed to know?  Hibiya was supposed to be the one who could come up with plans, not her, but here he was, asking her how they should sneak in the castle.

        Before she could shrug or answer with some vague, half-assed answer, another guard swam up to the two, seeming urgent, and the guards all left together in a group, heading towards the center of the city.  Either Shintaro and Takane had succeeded in whatever distraction they had planned, or there was something else going on, but for now the gates were clear and the two wasted no time in swimming quickly past the gates and into the castle, lest they get caught by and lingering guards.

        The inside the castle was much like the kingdom.  Instead of lively and bustling with activity, it was cold and empty, and a gloomy atmosphere hung in the air.  It was also ginormous.

        "How are we going to search the whole castle?!  She could be anywhere!"  Momo exclaimed quietly.  This was impossible!  They couldn't possible search the whole castle without getting caught!

        Hibiya had a different solution though and shook his head, pointing down one of the hallways.  "There's a slight current coming from that way, meaning there are stairs going down, possibly.  If there are, it could lead to the dungeon," he said as if it was obvious, and Momo frowned, peering down the hallway in a slightly curious manner.

        "Ah, if she's in the dungeon, wouldn't she be locked in a cell?" she asked, and Hibiya rolled his eyes crossing his arms.

        "We can worry about that when the time comes.  For now, let's just focus on actually finding her."

        Momo nodded, satisfied with his answer, and without saying anything else they both started there search, heading straight for the dungeon.

* * *

  
        Azami's eyes narrowed into slits, and she glared at Kuroha as he started to drag the distressed Marry away with him.  "Kuroha, don't you dare harm her!" she exclaimed, managing to keep whatever panic she was feeling out of her voice.  "You can do whatever you want with me, but leave her out of this.  She's just a child."

        Her once-loyal creation turned back towards her, his yellow eyes glinting as he sneered at her.  She had meant it- she would stomach whatever torture he wanted to put her through, but Marry was only a child.  Azami had wanted to keep her granddaughter out of this, initially, but even that seemed impossible for whatever unfathomable plan Kuroha had come up with.

        "I have no more business with you," he said coolly, his sneer growing as she could see his grip on Marry tighten.  The younger mermaid seemed too terrified to speak, and was struggling fruitlessly.  "Anyways, she may be only a  _child_ , but I have not forgotten that she had thrown silver powder in my eyes."

        Unless she was mistaken, there was a true hint of anger in his voice, and she couldn't tell if she was proud of Marry or scared for her.  Since when had Kuroha been truly angry?  She was unsure, as she was used to seeing him amused by everything, but she doubted that whatever he had planned for Marry was good.  

        "Just leave her  _be_ , you stupid fool.  You have nothing to gain by hurting her."

        Kuroha ignored her words and turned around to exit the jail, and Azami jerked at the chains that bound her wrists once, before giving up.  It was useless.  She couldn't escape, and in the end, she couldn't really save Marry or anybody else.  She had failed.

        As she watched Kuroha's retreating back and the terrified look on Marry's face, she opened her mouth once to try one more time to convince him to leave her there, but he spoke before she could say anything, and her words died on her lips.

        Turning his head so she could only see a part of his face, Azami so him grin widely at her, and she shivered, never having seen this look on him.  He looked truly insane, and there was a hidden malice in his eyes that only made her worry grow.  "Anyways, who said I was going to hurt her?"

        With that said, Kuroha left the cell and locked the door, not sparing Azami a second glance as he swam down the hall, Marry in tow, and Azami stared after them with an unreadable look in her eyes, her nails digging into the palms of her hands.  It was all she could do to keep herself from crying out.


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this chapter gets pretty violent at the end !

"Are you  _sure_  we're going the right way?"

Asking for the umpteenth time, Hibiya swam right behind Momo, irritated that they were passing cell after cell, no other signs of life visible to either of them. Who needed a dungeon this big when the kingdom was supposed to be peaceful?

Momo rolled her eyes as she turned left, not even bothering to look back at the younger boy.  "Of course I don't. I've never been here before, so how would I?" she asked, shaking her head.  "However, this has to be the way!  Come on!"

The orange-haired girl swam faster, and Hibiya quickly caught up to her, a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face.  He never had this much exercise- it felt almost like too much for him!  However, he kept these complaints to himself, keeping a sharp eye out for anybody who might be trapped.  Specifically, both of them were looking for Marry, but he didn't think they would find her down here.  He wasn't sure why he felt like that, and he kept it to himself, knowing that Momo would want to check anyways.

"Hibiya, look!"

Looking past her, he could see a shadow of a figure in one of the cells, and before he could say anything Momo was zooming forward, swimming speedily towards the occupied cell with an eager look on her face.  Quickly, he followed suit, hoping that they could just get Marry and then get the hell out of there.

"..."

Peering inside the cell, however, was not Marry.  Instead, a woman with bushy black hair- much like Marry's unruly hair- and deep red eyes was chained to a wall, her eyes looking empty.  She seemed young, around Marry's age, but there was something that made Hibiya feel she was much older.  Her tail was a plain black, and he noticed that she also had black scales on her face, which was strange as Hibiya hadn't seen scales on any of the guards or other mermaids.

"Are you alright?"

The mermaid stared at Momo blankly, closing her eyes for a moment and sighing.  After a moment, she opened her eyes back up, squinting for a moment, scrutinizing the two.

"Who are you?"  She asked, and Momo grinned, already fiddling with the lock on the cell.

Glancing back at the chained mermaid, Momo answered her without a moment's hesitation.  "I'm Momo Kisaragi, and this is Hibiya!" she said.

"Are you two friends of Marry's?"

This question caught them off guard, and Hibiya frowned, beating the older, optimistic teenager to the question that they both wanted to know.  "How did you know?" he asked, crossing his arms and watching her skeptically.  Obviously, if she was chained, she was dangerous, but was she dangerous to them, or to Kuroha?  He didn't know, and didn't trust her.

The mermaid didn't answer for a minute, her eyes falling to Momo, who was hard at work at trying to open the cell.  "She was here.  Briefly."  Hibiya could detect bitterness in the mermaid's voice, but he said nothing, wanting her to continue.  "She told me all about you guys.  I'm glad you guys came to save her after all, if it's not too late."

This did not go past Momo and Hibiya, and both of them looked at her in alarm.  "T-too late?!"  Momo exclaimed, her orange eyes widening.  They hadn't made a plan if Marry had been taken somewhere else, and Momo couldn't bear to think if Marry was injured or killed!

The mermaid looked away, her face still deadpanned as she spoke.  "... Kuroha took her away not too long ago.  I don't know what he has planned for her," she said, but despite her calm demeanor, her voice cracked at the end, and she took a deep breath.

As if on cue, the cell door swung open, and Momo swam forward, unsure on how to unlock the cuffs.  She had used a bobby pin to unlock the cell door, but she wasn't sure how the cuffs worked.  She didn't even know how she had exactly unlocked the cell door!  She just twisted it and tried random things until it worked, like it did in the movies.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Momo pleaded, and the mermaid's shoulders drooped.  However, she nodded, her lips tugging downwards in a frown.

"I suppose..." the mermaid said, before shaking her head.  "No, that must wait.  Marry is in danger.  Leave me here and go find her."

Her voice held authority and Hibiya couldn't help but wonder if she once held a high position at the castle.  However, they couldn't just leave her there, no matter her orders.

Momo glanced back at Hibiya, who was awkwardly floating in the doorway of the cell.  "Hibiya, can you find Marry?  I'll stay here with her," she suggested.  Hibiya hesitated for a moment- as selfish as it may have been, he didn't want to be alone!  However, they didn't have time to argue, and he groaned, forcing himself to look like he was being inconvenienced as he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll go," he grumbled, quickly swimming off.  Momo knew he was smart enough to draw Kuroha away from Marry, and hopefully Shintaro and Takane's plan would go smoothly as well.

As Momo watched him leave, she turned back to the chained mermaid, going back to trying to pick-lock the cuffs that chained her to the wall.  "Now can you tell me what happened?"  she asked, unable to keep herself from asking.  The mermaid gave her a wry smile and shook her head slightly.

"For me to tell you what happened, I'll have to start from the beginning."

"Don't worry, we have time.  I'm not very good at this," Momo admitted, grinning sheepishly as she fiddled with the cuffs.  This caused the mermaid to sigh, but she didn't attempt to argue this time.

"Alright.  My name is Azami, and... I'm the creator of Kuroha and this kingdom."

* * *

  
Marry was afraid.  This wasn't like before when she was sitting in the cell, waiting for her death.  At least she  _knew_  what awaited her then.  Now she was being dragged who  _knows_  where by Kuroha, and once again, her future was uncertain.  Was he going to kill her?  Torture her?

She didn't know, and that itself scared her.

"P-please--"

She couldn't even get one sentence out before Kuroha gave her a sharp look, as if warning her that if she didn't shut up that she would be in a world of pain.  Her pleading died on her lips, and she quieted down, her eyes growing teary.  Why did this have to happen?   _Why_  was he doing this?

After a couple moments of unnatural silence, there were a couple shouts, and soon another mermaid came racing towards the two, out of breath.  Marry recognized him as an old palace guard- no doubt, a traitor, somebody who had sided with Kuroha as soon as he had overthrown Azami.

"Your Royal Highness, we have bad news.  Two suspicious mermaids are causing havoc in the slums, looking for  _her_."

The palace guard's voice held disdain when she was mentioned, but that went over her head.  People were looking for her?  For a moment, she let herself hope that her friends had come to rescue her, but there was a manic glint in Kuroha's eyes, and that hope was quickly crushed as he nodded once.

"Then go capture them, it shouldn't be hard," he hissed, obviously annoyed at the interruption.  The palace guard quickly stammered out an affirmative and swam off, probably to do damage control.  Once they were alone again, Kuroha's grip on Marry's arm tightened and he dragged her to a nearby room, an annoyed look on his face. 

"It looks like your friends arrived," he cooed as he opened the door, shoving Marry into the room.  Despite his annoyed look, she could see the usual sadistic glint in his eyes, and Marry shivered, fear coursing through her veins.  "I'll enjoy painting the slums red with them, but first..."

He trailed off as he pressed her against the wall, his arm pressing against her throat and making it hard to breathe.  He allowed just enough space for her to get tiny bursts of air, but that wasn't enough and soon her lungs felt like they were burning from lack of oxygen, her tail thrashing around wildly.

"But first, I want to hear you scream, beg for your life and forgiveness.  Maybe I'll let you and your pathetic, pitiful worm of a grandmother live," he said, his voice smooth.  He used a calmer tone, one that she was used to hearing when she was younger, and she couldn't help but want to believe him, but the look in his eyes told her that no matter what, she was going to die, along with Azami.  He was just playing with her, and she hated it.

Tears pricking her eyes, she managed one shake of her head, and he barked out a laugh, pressing his arm harder against her throat.

"You don't value your life?"

Desperate to breath, Marry reached up to try and push his arm away, but he didn't budge an inch and she tried to hold on, silently crying.  Once tears had started to drip down her face, Kuroha's face distorted into one of disgust, removing his arm and backing away.  "You're pitiful.  Useless.  Do you really think that because you're crying I'll spare you?  You had your chance," he reminded her, as she dropped down, her tail underneath her as she gasped for breath.  Before she could reply, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her up with ease.  She cried out in pain, her hands instinctively wrapping around Kuroha's wrist, and this only made his grip tighter as he yanked upwards again.

"P-pl...please..." At first, her voice was hoarse, but when she tried to speak again it was more clear.  "Why... are you doing this?"

Kuroha snorted, grinning down at her as her forced her to look him in the eyes.  "It's always the same old question, surely it gets boring to ask," he taunted her, before his grin widened.  "Nothing pleases me more to see you of all people suffer.  It's your fault, too.  I gave you the chance of a lifetime and you turned it down.  If you had just agreed from the beginning, your precious frog boy wouldn't be dead, and your other friends wouldn't be on their way to getting beheaded," he told her, and she continued to cry.  His words were finally starting to get to her, and she felt despair sink in as she realized that he was right.  It was all her fault that Seto had died, and nobody else's.  And if the others died trying to save her...  That would surely be her fault, too.

Was this punishment?  Did she do something wrong to anger the gods?  Why was this happening to _her_?

"Why don't you just kill me...?" she asked after a moment, her voice quivering, and Kuroha laughed, leaning down so his face was closer to hers.  Instinctively, she flinched, but he didn't get any closer and instead watched her with a wicked grin.

Shaking his head, Kuroha let go of her hair, watching her drop back down to the floor.  "I'm giving you one more chance.  Join me and I will spare your friends and useless grandmother," he offered, and Marry quickly shook her head.  Maybe it was selfish of her to choose her life over the others, but she didn't believe Kuroha would be capable of showing mercy if he was at gunpoint, and she most certainly didn't believe Kuroha would keep his word.

"I... I won't."

These words took a burst of courage as Marry's throat closed off again, and as she saw Kuroha's face quickly morph into one of anger, she started to shake again, her heart racing rapidly.

Picking her up by the throat and pushing her against the wall, Marry weakly watched as Kuroha got angry, his grip tightening around Marry's throat and cutting off her air supply.  "That human boy is  _dead_ , so why won't you choose me?  Is dying truly better than joining me?  Do you really not care about the life of your so-called friends?" he hissed, and Marry could barely lift her hands as her vision started to grow dim, her ears ringing.  In a way, it was the same sensation as when she had almost drowned at the beach.  Was this really her fate?  Was she really going to die like this, without seeing any of her friends or Azami ever again?

Feeling her consciousness start to slip, the last thing Marry saw was the surprised look in Kuroha's eyes as she closed her eyes and slumped forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter physically hurt me, Marry doesn't deserve any of this... just let her live in peac e.


	18. Chapter 17

"So basically," Momo started as she had started on the last shackle, her hands growing tired from her attempts at pick-locking, "after making a wish to be with the guy you loved, Kuroha appeared and messed everything up?"   
  
Azami sighed, a barely-noticeable wry smile on her face at Momo's summary.  "I put it more eloquently, but.. yes.  Kuroha granted me my wish of becoming a human, then tricked me into coming back.  I haven't seen Tsukihiko since that day, and shortly after Shion gave birth to her own child, and then disappeared... Although, I had told Marry she had gotten ill and died," she said, and Momo frowned, stopping in her pick-locking efforts and looking up at Azami.  
  
There were many questions the ginger had, but the biggest (and most broad) one, was  _why?_  For a moment, she didn't know how to ask that question and make it seem more specific, but Azami seemed to have read her mind and answered the question.  
  
"Kuroha... He's doing this because he wants the power to control The Heat Haze," she explained, leaving Momo in confusing.  
  
"Heat Haze? What's that?" she asked, before going back to the shackle on Azami's wrist.  
  
Looking up at her still bound wrist, Azami started to explain.  "The Heat Haze is a separate universe where time doesn't pass.  It was created for Shion, Tsukihiko, and I to live happily-- however, if Kuroha is in control of it, he will gain the powers I currently hold, and will be more unstoppable than he already is," she explained.  
  
With a  _click_ , the shackled popped open, and the older mermaid started to rub her sore wrists, content that she was finally free.  
  
"Is there a way to stop him?  How can he take control over it?"  
  
"If he kills me, that would be one way to take control of The Heat Haze... However, with my powers weakened, he already controls it for the most part," she told Momo, who had a disheartened look on her face after the news.  Azami continued, though, ignoring the downtrodden look.  "However... there is one way to stop him."  
  
Momo brightened up at this and leaned forward, already excited at the thought of stopping Kuroha for good.  "Well? Well? What is it?" she asked.  
  
The red-eyes mermaid suppressed another wry smile at Momo's enthusiasm.  "It's something only I can do," she told Momo, "but I'm going to seal him into The Heat Haze for good."  
  
"Wait, isn't that what he wants, though?" Momo questioned as Azami got up.  The old mermaid shook her head though, her smile slightly bitter.  
  
"No.  Being sealed in The Haze means he won't be able to escape and carry out any of his plans.  He'll be gone for good," she explained.  "However, once this is all over...  None of you will see Marry again.  Everything will revert back to as it was.  Are you alright with that?"  
  
For a moment, it felt as if time had froze for Momo.  Their main reason for coming here was to bring Marry back and be with her.  No, scratch that- it was to save Marry.  Even if it meant never seeing Marry again, surely it would be alright to seal Kuroha into The Haze.  Right now, the biggest concern was making sure her friends stayed alive- the consequences of this could be worried about after this was all over.  Momo knew it wasn't even solely her decision to make, but right now they didn't have any other options, and it wasn't like she could just message everybody asking for their opinion.  
  
Making up her mind, Momo gave Azami a determined look, nodding once as they both swam out of the cell.  
  
"It it means saving Marry, then I think it's worth it," Momo declared, and Azami gave her a real smile, albeit it being small.  
  
Leading the way out of the dungeon, Azami didn't even look back at Momo as she replied.  
  
"Then, let us go find Kuroha and end this charade once and for all."

* * *

  
"They're over there!"  
  
"No, I swear I heard something from thataways!"  
  
"You all are crazy, I  _saw_  them head in that direction!"  
  
In the slums of the kingdom, it was chaos.  Takane and Shintaro hadn't expected their plan to work, but they were both sure that the majority of the soldiers were in their area, looking for the two who were currently hidden away in an abandoned house that was falling apart.  
   
"Do you think we did a good enough job?" Takane asked Shintaro, who scoffed and gave her a look that said he was being stupid.  
  
"Our job was done about 20 minutes ago,  _before_  you decided to cause a commotion in that one shop and somehow catch it on fire," he pointed out, glancing over in a direction where green smoke was currently unfurling from a tall building.  
  
Takane scowled.  "Hey, I didn't think it was possible for things to catch fire underwater, it isn't my fault I knocked over that shelf!" she exclaimed, but quickly lowered her voice as she heard another soldier shout nearby.   
  
"Well, because you didn't stick with my  _foolproof_  plan, we're going to be stuck here for a while," he replied, his voice grouchy as his red merman tail flicked back and forth, like an irritated cat's tail.  
  
His partner shrugged, peeking out the window and being careful so to not get caught.  "That doesn't matter. What matters is Momo and Hibiya getting outta there with Marry," she pointed out, and Shintaro huffed, nodding slightly.  
   
"This just better not be for nothing..."  
  
Takane shot Shintaro a questioning look, and opened her mouth to question him on why he would think that, but she fell silent as a new voice joined the soldiers, this one cold and full of authority, sending shivers down the two teen's spines.  The voice wasn't familiar- neither of them had heard it before, and both of them quietly looked out the window to see a newcomer out there.  He had a gray tail and black hair pulled back in a short ponytail- from this angle, they could both make out yellow eyes and three, small yellow circles below one of the eyes.  
  
It was Kuroha.  
  
They had heard Marry's strange description of him, and of course have heard about the terrible things he had done, but seeing him in person was surreal, and nerve-wracking to the two.  It was obvious he was there to dispose of them, and his next words confirmed as much.  
  
"You guys haven't caught those pests yet?"  
  
His voice was filled with disgust at the mention of the two, and one of the soldiers quickly stepped forward, as if to make an excuse for their failure.  
  
"We've searched everywhere, they keep-"  
  
 _Thud._  
  
Peering out the window once again, both teens had to cover their mouths in shock as they watched the soldier' head fall to the ground, blood staining the already murky water.  The rest of the nearby soldiers fell quiet, and Kuroha continued to speak, as if literally pulling off somebody else's head was just an everyday commonality to him.  
  
"I want you to  _find_  them, and bring them to me alive.  They aren't getting away easily," he hissed, and Takane could feel herself shiver again as she stared straight ahead in fear, too afraid to glance out the window in fear that Kuroha would spot them.  Sneaking a peek at Shintaro, she knew he felt the same.  
  
Takane sank lower as she continued to listen to Kuroha's harsh words.  "If you can't manage even that, then bring me their heads.  They will  _not_  be getting out of here alive."  
   
After a chorus of 'yes sir!'s, Takane could feel the soldiers disperse, and she and Shintaro exchanged uneasy glances, both of them, for once, sharing the same feeling.  
  
"Any plans?" she whispered, and Shintaro frowned, glancing towards the doorway to the room they were in.  
  
"We've done our job.  Everybody is here searching for us, it's best if we leave as soon as we can," he said, his voice hushed.  "There's an island nearby- if we have to, we can use that as shelter, but as long as we stay in the water, we're in danger," he told her.  Takane nodded, her eyes flicking up towards the window they were hiding under.  
  
"What about Hibiya and the others?"  
   
Shintaro cast Takane an irritated look, running his hand through his hair.  "We'll just have to trust that they'll make it out.  We have to stick with the plan, though," he said, and both of them fell silent as they heard a crash nearby, and then a scream, both coming from the house next to them.  Neither of them liked getting the villagers who were just trying to stay safe involved, but it wasn't their fault, and they both shifted uneasily, falling quiet.  
  
For a moment, the sea around them was deathly silent, and Takane had a moment to hope that the soldiers had left the area. If so, they would be able to safely leave.  As the twin-tailed girl looked out the window to confirm her thoughts though, she was instead met with a pair of yellow, snake-like eyes and a maniacal grin that sent shivers down her spine, and slowly, Shintaro glanced up too sensing the new presence that made the sea around them feel even darker.  
  
"Game over for you."

* * *

  
 _Beep.  Beep.  Beep._  
  
As Kido and Kano sat in the hospital room, next to their unconscious brother, both of them remained uncharacteristically silent.  It had been 2 hours since the others had left, and it was nerve-wracking to say the least, waiting for them to come back with Marry in tow.  They had already been questioned by both police and doctors, but they stuck to their story, although it was obviously a lie.  
  
Kousuke Seto, who was taking a walk by himself by the building compounds, was involved in an attempted homicide, where some random person had tried to shoot him.  It didn't explain why he tried dragging himself- they said it was because he tried to get help, but he was dragging himself further away from civilization and towards the ocean.  Luckily, Kano had quickly hid the phone so they didn't ask why Seto's phone was in pieces.  
  
After the doctor had examined Seto's wound and gave him a blood transfusion, it was declared that he would be fine under constant supervision.  The bullet had, surprisingly enough, missed any vital organs, and because of how quick the ambulance had gotten to him, with enough blood transfusion and aggressive resuscitation, he would live.  Another stroke of luck.  
  
However, despite the quickness in getting help, the doctor had mentioned that he had a "class four hemorrhage", and would not be awake for quite some time.  The only sound in the room, now that the nurses and doctors had left the two siblings in peace, was the constant beeping of the heart monitor that reassured them both that Seto was alive.  
  
"Kano..."  
  
Looking over at his sister, he was surprised to see that she was teary eyed for once.  His usually-tough sister was on the brink of tears, and he didn't know what he could do about it.  A part of him, albeit very small, was bitter with Marry- if she hadn't appeared, Seto would still be alright and they would all have been going through their normal routine.  However, he knew it wasn't Marry's fault, it was all that damn snake's fault, and instead he directed his anger towards the black-haired serpent, wishing that he could avenge Seto (although, he had to remind himself, Seto was still  _alive_ , Seto would be  _alright_ ).  
  
"Don't worry Kido," Kano said, managing a grin.  Awful.  Even in this time he could fake a grin easily, deceiving his own sister in thinking that he was perfectly fine too, although he knew that she wouldn't really fall for the grin.  For him, though, faking a grin was still better for him than showing how he truly felt, angry and bitter and scared.  
  
Sure enough, Kido called him out on his mask, a slight scowl on her face.  "Stop pretending to be happy, idiot," she commanded, her voice slightly hoarse from all the crying she had done earlier.    
   
Kano looked out the window, noting how the sun was still high in the sky, and his smile dropped.  It seemed like it should be night by now, but he had to remind himself it really wasn't that late.  At the most, it was only about one or two in the afternoon, and it was as sunny as ever outside.  It made him feel wistful, thinking that just a week ago they were all happy, at the beach and playing volleyball and breaking open watermelon.  Now, Seto was half-dead, Marry had been kidnapped by a psychopathic snake and is currently heading toward her own demise, and Takane, Shintaro, Hibiya, and Momo all somehow found a way to follow them into the ocean and save Marry from her fate.  
  
Part of him believed they wouldn't even come back.  
  
He kept this part to himself, however, not wanting to stress or worry Kido even more.  He had to convince himself,  _force_  himself to believe that they would all make it back and somehow defeat Kuroha.  That's how it always was in the movies- the good guys win, the bad guy gets defeated.  This was real life, but surely the same thing would happen, surely they would all get a happy ending, and that thought itself was good enough to bring the blonde teen out of his spiral into despair for the time being.


	19. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody saves Marry, and Takane and Shintaro get caught in a deadly game of hide and seek.

"Marry... Marry, you must wake up."  
  
With a gentle shake to the mermaid's shoulders, Marry's eyelids fluttered, the young girl still unconscious.  The stranger continued to shake her, a gentle but urgent tone to her voice.  
  
"Marry, please... You have to get out of here."  
  
"Mother...?"  
  
Opening her eyes slowly, Marry looked up and expected to see a mess of white hair and red eyes, but she wasn't, and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.  What was going on? Where was she?  What happened?  
  
The unknown mermaid smiled sweetly at her, helping Marry sit up.  "Don't worry, I'm on your side," she said, her brown eyes conveying a warmth Marry hadn't seen since the last time she had seen an uninjured Seto.  The person made her relax immediately, and slowly both of them got up.  
  
"What...?"  
  
Marry couldn't get out more than a couple words, her voice hoarse as memories came back to her.  Azami in a jail cell.  Her friends coming to save her.  Kuroha strangling her.  It explained why her throat hurt so bad, and the other mermaid gave Marry a sympathetic look, glancing briefly at the door.  
  
"I'm here to get you out of here.  Are you feeling alright to move?" she asked, and Marry nodded shakily, her head pounding.  
  
"Where's... roha...?"  Her voice fading in and out, Marry attempted to clear her throat, repeating her question.  "Where's Kuroha?"  
  
The mermaid brushed her brown hair back, pursing her lips.  "Out.  He went to go find your friends, but he's unaware of the ones inside this castle."  
  
Marry's eyes widened at that.  "They're here... in the castle?"  
  
The mermaid nodded, smiling sweetly at Marry.  "Yes, they are.  One of them is on their way here right now."  
  
As if on cue, the door burst open to reveal a short merman, his light brown hair messy and unkempt.   
  
"Hibiya!"  
  
Hibiya's eyes went back and forth between Marry and the other mermaid, nodding slowly at her.  "You're the one who told me where she was before disappearing."  
  
He didn't offer thanks vocally, but the other mermaid understood that his polite tone was thanks enough.  She headed towards the door, gazing out the window that was across it for a moment.  "Take Marry back to Azami and Momo.  I need to go, but I'm sure Azami can brief you on her plan," she said, already starting to swim away.  Marry stopped her, offering her a grateful smile.  
  
"Thank you...?" Marry trailed off, not knowing the mermaid's name.  
  
"Ayano," was all the brunette replied with before swimming off.

* * *

Just as Momo and Azami left the dungeon, Hibiya and Marry showed up, although the latter mermaid seemed very exhausted.  
  
"What happened?!" Momo asked, seeing the welts on Marry's neck, and Marry shook her head, signalling that she didn't want to talk about it.  Anyways, there were bigger problems now.  
  
"Ayano said that Kuroha went after some people in the village?" she said, and Momo blanched, looking at Azami in alarm.  
  
"That's Shintaro and Takane... but... Marry, who's Ayano?"  
  
Hibiya answered for Marry this time.  "A mermaid. She helped Marry and I escape," he said, and Momo nodded, not asking anything else.  The name Ayano sounded familiar, but it was also a more-popular name on land.  Maybe she knew an Ayano?  Most likely not.  
  
Azami broke Momo out of her musings, a grim look on her face.  "Momo, Hibiya," she said, her voice full of authority she was used to carrying around.  "You two go and take Marry towards the shore.  If worse comes to worst, I want you two to escape onto land, got it?" she asked, and both nodded.  
  
"How will we know if the worst has happened, though?" Hibiya asked, and Azami nodded towards Marry.  
  
"She'll feel it through the vibrations of the ocean," she answered, before continuing on.  "I'll go towards Kuroha and your other friends.  I will make sure they are safe and I'll seal Kuroha in the Haze for good."  
  
Her voice was curt, and left no room for arguments as everybody nodded, understanding her words.  After all, they were running out of time, so it wasn't smart to float around and argue.  
  
"Now go."  
  
At Azami's command, the three other mermaids left the palace, dodging palace guards as they started to head towards the outskirts of the kingdom, avoiding the slums at all costs.  They were all worried for Takane and Shintaro, but they had to have trust in Azami and do what was right.  One wrong move and they could wind up dead.  
  
As Azami watched the others swim away, she quickly headed towards the slums, her eyes icy cold.  Although it wasn't ideal, Azami would finally put an end to this once and for all.  For the sake of her family and her kingdom, she would finally defeat Kuroha.

* * *

  
Shintaro and Takane both hid, not wanting to split up as Kuroha combed the area for them.  When he appeared, Takane had panicked and punched him.  It was strong, as Takane had never been the sporty type of person, but it stunned him and gave time for the two to escape.  Now, Takane was severely regretting it as they listened to his taunts.  
  
"You can't hide forever!" Kuroha's voice sang out, a teasing lilt to it.  Takane involuntarily shivered, afraid to move even a muscle.  Both teenagers were currently hiding in a small closet filled with cleaning supplies, and as Kuroha's voice got closer, she knew they would have to do something soon.  But what?  
  
Sending a panicked look towards Shintaro, she was surprised to see him studying the closet's contents, and her panicked look faded into a glare.  
  
"Now's not the time to contemplate cleaning!  Kuroha could be here any-"  
  
"Shut  _up!"_  Shintaro hissed, clapping his hand over her mouth to stop her from ranting anymore, lest she give away their hiding spot.  "Some of these cleaning products are like the ones we have on land.  I'm trying to see if there's any that could help us," he said, before finding a couple washrags and handing one to Takane.  It had a slimy feel, and Takane shuddered when she touched it, but that was the least of their problems.  
  
"Put this over your mouth and nose," he commanded, and Takane nodded, deciding to not question him.  After all, he was the genius, not her.  If he said he had a plan, she would trust him for the time being, since their options were small.  
  
Picking up two bottles, he squinted at one before unscrewing both of the bottles' tops with one hand, being careful to not knock them over.  With the other hand, he held a wash cloth up to his own nose.  
  
Dragging a bucket between them, Shintaro mixed the two chemicals together, wincing as a faint  _hiss_  was heard.  The sound of Kuroha's voice getting closer, Shintaro and Takane both shrank back, freezing for a moment as the bleach and ammonia produced a strange gas that hung in fragments of the water, automatically floating up to seek air.  It stung Shintaro's eyes, and he squinted them shut for a moment.  
  
All at once, the door flung open, revealing Kuroha's victorious face.  
  
"Found yo- ?!"  
  
Starting to cough, Kuroha swam back a bit, giving Takane and Shintaro a small window of opportunity, both of them fleeing the closet.  It wasn't much, and the water diluted the chloramine that Shintaro had made, but it was just enough to send Kuroha reeling for a couple moments, and that was all the time they needed.  
  
When they got far enough from Kuroha, they both stopped, dropping the wash cloths that they had kept to their nose and mouth.  Both of their eyes stung from the diluted gas, but it was better than what Kuroha was probably feeling right now, and they exchanged looks of victory.  
  
"We have to get out of here now.  We can't risk staying here any longer," Takane said gently, and Shintaro shot her a sharp look, his black eyes darkening.  
  
"Momo and the others are still here.  We can't leave them."  
  
"What are you, an idiot?  They'll make it out on their own, but if Kuroha finds us again, we're dead meat.  Let's go."  
  
Tugging on his arm once, Takane let go and started to swim towards the edge of the slums, making sure Shintaro was following.  Although he wanted to wait until he knew Momo was out safe, he knew that wasn't a part of the original plan, and he had to trust his older sister to make it out alive.  The fact that Kuroha was in the slums with them instead of the castle was a good thing, and he had to hope for the best.  
  
"Alright, let's go." He agreed, and both of them left, neither wanting to be caught by Kuroha.


	20. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final show down.

As Shintaro and Takane started to leave, they ran into an unfamiliar mermaid with black hair similar to Marry's and dark, red eyes.  For a moment, nobody moved, and Takane and Shintaro tensed, ready for the mermaid to call for guards.  Surely, everybody was on the lookout now, and they both were ready to bolt.  
  
The mermaid didn't call for anybody though, and instead she sighed, relaxing a bit as she closed her eyes.  "I presume you must be Takane and Shintaro?  I've heard a great deal about you from Marry," she said, her eyes opening again.  She seemed young, around Marry's age, but her wary eyes and her voice made her seem ions older.  The mention of Marry stopped the two of them from leaving.  
  
"You've met Marry?"  Takane asked, still on guard.  The mermaid nodded, her eyes darting to scan the area before going back to Takane and Shintaro.  
  
"Yes.  I am her grandmother, Azami," she said, and it was silent for a moment before Takane shook her head.  
  
"No way you're Marry's grandmother, you're too young!"  
  
A sharp look from Azami though shut Takane up, and she apologized when she realized that Azami wasn't joking.  The older mermaid sighed, her hair moving gently with the water.  "I assume Kuroha is that way?"  
  
Shintaro answered this time, nodding once, his face apprehensive.  "Mrs... Kozakura, are you going to stop him?" he asked, and Azami frowned at the formal use of her name.  
  
Starting to swim past them and into Kuroha's direction, Azami nodded once.  "Yes, this time for good.  The others are safe now, heading to the outskirts of the kingdom and towards the shore... I suggest you do the same," she advised curtly, stopping once.  Without looking back, she added on, "and call me Azami.  You make me feel old when you're so formal."  
  
With that, Azami swam off, into Kuroha's direction.

* * *

  
As Momo, Hibiya, and Marry all waited outside of the kingdom, a thought crossed through Momo's head, a memory from when her and Azami talked.  
  
_"He'll be gone for good.  However, once this is all over...  None of you will see Marry again.  Everything will revert back to as it was.  Are you alright with that?"_  
  
Momo frowned, glancing at Marry.  It was for her own good, for  _everyone's_  own good that Kuroha would be gone, but at the same time...  She would miss Marry terribly.  The memories would still be there, but never seeing Marry again?  That seemed awfully lonely, especially for Marry, who had even admitted she didn't have friends in the kingdom.  
  
"Marry... I need to tell you something," Momo said, her eyes downcast.  Marry looked over at Momo, worry written all over her face.  She didn't say anything though, and let Momo continue.  "Azami told me herself, but she said...  She said that once Kuroha is gone, none of us will be able to see you again."  
  
Marry looked in confusion, the weight of Momo's words hitting a couple seconds after as she realized this a moment later.  Instead of crying though, she looked away, her face crestfallen.  "Maybe...  Maybe it's better this way."  
  
Then Marry started to weep, burying her face in her hands as her tears rolled down her face.  At once, Momo was there to comfort her, Hibiya floating awkwardly and unsure of what to do.  
  
"This is all of my fault, Momo!  If I hadn't escaped Kuroha and ran to the surface, Seto would still be alive, and you all would have been safe!  I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!"  
  
Marry continued to sob, mumbling out more, incoherent reasons why she shouldn't have ran to the surface, and Momo held Marry close, trying not to cry herself.  
  
"Marry...  None of this is your fault, and Seto's still alive.  Everything will be alright," she quietly said, and Marry's sobs quieted down after a moment, confusion written all over her face as she looked up at Momo, her eyes red and puffy.  
  
"Seto...  he's alive?"  she asked, hiccuping, and Momo nodded, a small smile on her face.  
  
"Yes, he's alive.  Injured, but alive."  
  
Marry let out a long sigh of relief, sagging against Momo.  Kuroha had lied, Seto is alive.  It was a miracle, and Marry felt lighter and happier, knowing that Seto didn't die for her sake.    
  
"That's... good," she said, wiping her eyes as she slowly got back up, glancing at the kingdom briefly before back to Momo.  Wiping away any remaining traces of tears, Marry forced herself to smile, trying not to cry again.  No, she had one more objective, before this was all over.  She was scared, but it had to be done, and taking a deep breath, she looked up at Momo.  
  
"Then, Momo..."  she trailed off, her throat becoming dry.  Or was that her voice box just protesting over being overused, especially after Kuroha had strangled her?  Marry couldn't tell at this point.  She wanted to sleep, and wake up and realize all of this was a nightmare.  But first...  
  
"Yes?"  Momo tilted her head, waiting for Marry to go on.  
  
"When you guys get back to the surface, can you please find Seto...  And can you tell him that I will one day find a way to see you all again.  I won't stop until I get to see you all, especially him!" she cried out, willing herself not to cry, not yet.  "A-and tell him... tell him that I love him.  One day, I'll see him again!"  
  
And with this proclamation, both girls burst into tears again, hugging each other as Hibiya continued to float there awkwardly, glancing back at the kingdom anxiously.

* * *

At the same time Marry had told Momo that she loved Seto, the said boy had started to wake up in his room.  
  
"Seto!"  Three voices cried out, rushing towards him instantly.  Memories of what had happened rushed to him at once, and he shot up, wincing at the pain in his abdomen.  None of that mattered though as his eyes swept the room, only finding his two siblings and Haruka.  
  
"Where's Marry?"  
  
His voice was hoarse from not using it, and Haruka reached over and handed Seto a glass of water, which he greedily drank from.  It felt good, and although his throat was still sore, he was able to talk.  
  
"Where's Marry?" he repeated his question, and Kido sighed, looking to the side.  When nobody answered at first, Seto added onto the question.  "And where's everybody else?"  
  
Haruka was the one who decided to fill Seto in on what he missed, carefully sitting down on the hospital bed so he didn't injure Seto more.  After Seto had been told the whole story, Haruka gave him a carefree grin as he started to process it.  
  
"I'm sure everybody will be fine.  I just got here after combing the shore and the building compound, although there wasn't much to be seen there.  Police officers get really angry when you try stepping onto a crime scene!" he said, not seeming the least bit offended or intimidated by being stopped by a police officer.  Seeing Seto's worried look, his smile dimmed a bit.  
  
"Kousuke, they'll be fine."  
  
This came from Kido, and at the use of his first name Seto looked over in surprise.  "I believe you."  
  
It was true.  As afraid for his friends he was, Seto did believe that his friends would make it back alive, and that Kuroha would be defeated.  Even though the possibility of them dying was worse, he knew that they were stronger than they were often given credit for, and he eased back into his bed, trying not to wince at the sharp, stabbing pain in his abdomen.  Damn, getting shot  _really_  hurt, and he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that it happened.  
  
"Hey, we should plan a party for when they get back!"  
  
This came from Haruka, and Kano nodded, hopping on board with this idea immediately.  "Yeah!" he cried out, grinning.  "We can have a welcome home party when you get out of the hospital and when the others get back!"  
  
All four of the teenagers on board with the slightly ludicrous idea, they started to make plans, ranging from food to games to decorations.  It seemed slightly wrong, to laugh and smile when their friends were in danger, but there was nothing else they could do except sit around and wait.  
  
Anyways, Kano and Haruka  _really_  wanted to have a party, and it was rare when Kido agreed.

* * *

  
Kuroha clutched his eyes, screaming in anger as the two rats escaped him once again.  A soldier, hearing Kuroha's cry came to help him, but almost at once Kuroha shot his hand through the soldier's chest, immediately killing him and pulverizing his heart.  After that, nobody else dared to go near Kuroha.  
  
"I'll kill those brats for sure!  Every last one of them, I want them dead at my feet," he hissed, blinking rapidly as his eyesight returned to him.  The chloramine definitely injured him, and if it weren't for the ocean and his healing powers, he could have been blinded for life, much like when Marry threw the silver powder in his face.   
  
He was sure she was already dead.  He didn't mean to kill her, he didn't think she would die so easily, but as his hands had clutched around her throat and prevented her from breathing, he could feel her life slip through his hands.  He  _was_  surprised when he saw her stop breathing and fall to the ground, but he didn't bother to catch her.  He had planned on killing her anyways, she was only a nuisance in his plans.  
  
Sure, it was possible that she was still alive.  He didn't bother to check her pulse, he left her laying there, but if she was still alive, that was no problem.  She was too scared to try anything, not to mention weak.  If she wasn't dead, she would definitely be dead by the end of this day.  
  
Leaving the chemical-ridden building, Kuroha started to swim down the streets, a look of murder on his face.  The soldiers avoided him, doing their search for the fugitives on their own.  They valued their lives, and Kuroha was definitely in a bad mood.  
  
Yes, it was those looks of horror that Kuroha loved the most, the look that he almost always received from the soldiers and this kingdom's inhabitants.  Oh, how he  _loved_  to be the center of people's fears, to be the monster that people thought only existed in nightmares.  How he loved even more to kill those people and watch the light drain from their eyes as they realized there was no hope for them surviving.  
  
"Come out, come out," he sang, his voice completely cold as his eyes scanned the area.  Where  _were_  those little brats?  "I know you're around here somewhere!"  
  
However, the voice that replied was different than expected.  
  
"Kuroha."  
  
He knew, without turning around, that it was Azami.  How she escaped was a mystery to him, but it didn't matter.  He had enough of this game, and now he just wanted to dye the kingdom red, starting with the former ruler.  How she said his name, it irked him.  Full of disdain and contempt, like a mother speaking to a child who had done something severely wrong.  
  
Turning around, Kuroha continued to grin, coming face to face with his creator.  "Ah, Azami, it's so nice to see you again.  Pray tell, how did you escape that cell?" he asked, and she swam closer, not giving anything away with her expression.  Instead, she remained stoic.  
  
"Kuroha, are you done playing these childish games, yet?"  
  
Kuroha started to cackle, clutching his sides as he doubled over.  "I can't believe you of all people have the audacity to think that!" he exclaimed, stopping his laughter at a moment and continuing to grin at her.  "This game is done, but only because it's a game over.  Admit it, I've won, your worthless kingdom is in shambles and  _I'm_  the ruler now,  _I'm_  the one that everybody is following, and  _I'm_  the one that's going to control The Heat Haze!"  
  
His voice raising at the end, his hands shot out and he wrapped his hands tightly around Azami's neck, lifting her up as he saw her face starting to turn red.  
  
"You're stupid, thinking you can come here and talk sense to me.  You're nothing but a pawn, and soon you'll join your beloved Shion and Tsukihiko," he cooed, and Azami's face darkened as she rested her hands on Kuroha's, not attempting to pry his hands away from her neck.  She managed to keep calm, and instead, she rasped out her response, struggling to breathe.  
  
"So you did kill Shion and Tsukihiko, as well as Shion's husband?" she asked, and Kuroha barked out one laugh, his face filled with twisted humor.  
  
"Of course I did, and Marry too.  I strangled the life out of her and left her in the castle, which is going to happen to you in a moment."  
  
Despite it possibly being a lie, as Kuroha wasn't exactly sure if she was still alive, Azami didn't seem to fall for it for a moment, her face seeming apathetic.  
  
"You know.... Kuroha..."  It was getting harder for her to breathe, and he loosened his grip just so he could allow her her last words before he snapped her neck.  "It's a good thing I didn't come here to talk sense into you."  
  
For a moment, confusion washed over him, his grin dropping.  What did she mean?  What else was she here to do, if it wasn't to--.  
  
At once, Kuroha understood her goal and started to scream, his hand tightening around Azami's neck in an attempt to crush it and kill her instantly.  
  
By then, though, it was already too late, and soon, both Azami and Kuroha disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter will be published tomorrow on August 15th!


	21. Chapter 20

It happened in the blink of an eye.  
  
As Azami felt the pressure of Kuroha's hand around her neck, and felt her consciousness start to fade, she felt it.  The opening of The Haze.  It took all of her concentration and, with what little power she had left, she had forced The Haze to swallow both herself and Kuroha.  She was sacrificing herself, and she felt bad she would never be able to ensure Marry a happy life, but this was the only way to stop Kuroha for good.  After all, once The Haze was sealed...  
  
There would be no leaving it again.  
  
Kuroha understood too late though, and by the time he closed his fist around her windpipe, they were spiraling into an eternal nothingness.

* * *

  
The change in the sea was instantaneous.  Usually, Marry could pick up subtle changes in the sea, but this wasn't subtle.  It was like a shock wave, and she knew that Momo and Hibiya had felt it as they all turned to each other in confusion.  Did Azami's plan work, or was this the result of it backfiring?  The thought of Azami's plan backfiring made the three shudder in unison.  
  
It was at this time that Takane and Shintaro both showed up, their faces grim, and Marry felt her heart stop.  This was it.  They were here to tell her that Azami was gone, and that Kuroha was right behind them.  
  
"Azami went off to fight Kuroha," Shintaro said, and Marry closed her eyes, waiting to hear the confirming words from the older Kisaragi sibling.  However, they never came, and as the silence stayed, she opened her eyes, looking around.  Still no Kuroha, and Marry dared to hope that maybe, just  _maybe_  he was finally gone for good.  
  
Wanting to break the silence, Marry saw Momo open her mouth, probably to inquire about the result of the confrontation between Azami and Kuroha.  However, that question never came, as a bright light filled the sea and blinded them all.  
  
White noise was heard, and then nothing.

* * *

  
In a glittering palace, a girl sat on a throne made of pearls and rare jewels, her pink eyes showing the boredom she currently felt.  Although she looked like a young teenager, she was anything but.  Coming up was her 145th birthday, and the royal coordinators were throwing a fit, trying to plan the perfect party.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, though, the girl wasn't interested.  
  
A party didn't interest her, nor did lavish gifts or delicious banquets.  She only wished for one thing, and that was the one thing that she couldn't have.  
  
Her mermaid tail flicking back and forth, the same shade as her eyes, she watched silently out the window as people entered and left the castle, carrying large boxes and colorful decorations.  A crown adorned her head, gold and sparkling with the most beautiful rubies that could be found in the kingdom.  
  
She had been queen for 5 years now.  
  
Thinking back on when she first became queen, the mermaid became nostalgic.  As well as it's been 5 years since she has become queen, it has been 5 years since she saw the people she once called her friends, along with her grandmother.  
  
"Your highness!"  
  
At the familiarity of the voice, the mermaid looked up and smiled at another of her kind, one with long brown hair and a red tail.  
  
"Ayano, how many times do I have to remind you that you can just call me Marry?  After all, you saved me back then..."  
  
Marry's gaze turned wistful at the mention of the memory, and the red-tailed mermaid smiled.  However, she didn't protest or agree, and instead continued on.  
  
"I have great news,  please come with me!"  
  
Ayano said nothing else before speeding off and Marry followed her without hesitation, her eyes wide with wonder.  Ayano seemed to be very excited, and Marry was curious to see what made the girl seem that way.  Was it a birthday present?  
  
Soon, they were out of the castle, but that didn't stop Ayano, and instead she started to lead Marry to the outskirts of the kingdom, causing Marry to slow down.  
  
"Ayano, can you please tell me what's going on?"  
  
Ayano nodded and stopped, turning to face Marry.  
  
"I'm taking you to the surface.  I know you've wanted to see the others for a while..."  
  
Marry's eyes widened, and for a moment, she couldn't speak.  Surely... this was just a dream, right?  Ayano had been to the surface a couple times, but Marry was forbid from ever leaving the kingdom.  
  
"Right now?"  
  
Ayano nodded, and Marry's smile grew wider.  However, Ayano held her hand up to prevent her from saying anything else.  
  
"However...  their condition is still the same.  I doubt any of them will be the same."  
  
Marry's smile died down a bit, but she was ecstatic of seeing everybody just the same.  
  
"I'll still go."  
  
With that said, Ayano took Marry's hand gently and led her to a current nearby.  "Take this current," Ayano told Marry, "and it will take you to the shore you appeared on when you first met everybody, alright?"  
  
Marry nodded, giving Ayano a brief hug.  Ayano returned it without hesitance.  
  
"This is my birthday present to you this year.  Just be back before midnight, alright?  I'll keep the guards occupied for you to sneak back in!  Now, go!"  
  
Marry didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

  
It was strange.  
  
Seto rarely had time off with his three jobs now, and now that he finally had free time away from his home, it felt strange, almost surreal.  And how did he spend his free time?  
  
Walking on the beach.  
  
He felt like a total loser compared to his siblings.  If Kido were in his place, she would have probably gone to the arcade or went to visit Momo (they visited all the time now, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was more going on between them than they let on).  If it were Kano, he would have went somewhere way cooler.  In fact, it was Kano who teased Seto about coming to the beach, but the work-ridden boy couldn't help it.  
  
Although he hadn't been able to visit the beach in a while, he always felt drawn to it.  Looking at the ocean, he felt a wave of nostalgia, but from what?  Barely any memories he had involved the ocean or the beach, so why did the ocean make him so nostalgic?  
  
As he walked down the shoreline, lost in his own thoughts and ruminating over any memories he might have had that involved beach visits, he almost missed the girl who was staring at the ocean.  She was the only person on the beach, and as he drew closer, he felt another wave of nostalgia hit him.  However, she was a stranger, he was sure that he would remember somebody with as white and long as hair as she had.  
  
At first, she didn't notice him, but as he took a step closer and she turned, her eyes widened.  Perhaps in fright, perhaps in recognition, Seto couldn't tell.  
  
"Ah, sorry!" Seto exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.  Of course, he would scare the poor girl.  "I didn't mean to scare you!"  
  
The girl sent him a small, wavering smile, but she didn't run away, and that was a good sign.  Seto was mesmerized by her eyes which were a captivating salmon pink color.  
  
"Y-you didn't scare me," the girl stuttered slightly, quickly averting her gaze when their eyes met.  
  
It was silent for a bit, but it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward.  After a moment, the girl turned back to the ocean, as if lost in her own thoughts, and Seto realized that if he wanted to continue a conversation with her, he would have to make the first move.  
  
"So what brings you here?"  
  
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt stupid.  That was just one step away from asking "do you come here often?" and sounded just as stupid.  Despite the stupidity of his question though, the girl answered unhesitatingly, keeping her eyes on the calm waves.  
  
"The ocean..." her voice wavered for a moment, still quiet, "it's like my home.  When I stare out at the waves, and then at the Earth around me... I feel like the world's calling out to me.  It's nice."  
  
Despite the weirdness of her words, Seto smiled gently down at her, following her gaze just to see a beautiful sunset over the ocean's horizon, painting the sky a lovely orange.  
  
"You must really love the ocean to feel like that," he said, and the girl nodded, turning back to face him.  She didn't seem like she was going to say anything else, and Seto sighed inaudibly.  "I rarely come here anymore but...  When I do, I feel nostalgic.  Like the ocean is drawing me towards it."  
  
When the girl didn't say anything, Seto felt slightly embarrassed and laughed quietly, waving his hand as if to dismiss his words.  "Eh, I'm rambling.  Anyways, my names Kousuke Seto," he introduced, holding a hand out amiably.  For a moment, he didn't think the girl would take it, but then he felt a small, cold hand placed in his and he shook her hand gently, smiling all the while.  
  
After they let go of each other's hands, the girl finally gave him a true smile, albeit it being small.  "I-I'm Marry," she said, and for a moment, sadness flickered through Marry's eyes.  It was short-lasting, and after a moment, Seto decided he must have imagined it.  After all, why would Marry be sad if she was by a place she loved so much?  
  
"It's nice to meet you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD I can't believe this story is officially over. It's been 2 years since I started this story (published on Quotev of August, 2014), and it's already come to an end. I totally didn't plan for it to end on the 15th either, it just... sorta happened.
> 
> Anyways, here it is, the true ending! I hope you all liked this story, and thank you SO SO MUCH for supporting me and reading this fanfiction!


End file.
